Stolen Hearts
by HazelGoddess
Summary: The Spirit Tracks have disappeared and the Tower has been destroyed. Audrey is thrown into the middle of chaos and is now fighting to do what is right. Her mind knows what she should do, but will her heart pull her down an unexpected path? Getting Hyrule back to normal is going to be harder than she thought, especially with a certain ex-Lokomo keeping an eye on her.
1. Chapter 1

Soft rays of sunlight poured through the windows into a humble, one bedroom house, peeking through a slim crack in the dark curtains and hitting the floor, revealing little specks of dust floating around in the air. A rooster owned by the old farmer across the street let out a proud crow, alerting the town's inhabitants of the start of a new day. A young woman who lived in the cozy house stirred in her bed, and after giving the window a rather dirty look for allowing the sunlight to enter her room uninvited, she turned back over and yanked the comforter over her head, willing the sun to sink back behind the horizon for just a few minutes longer. But the day would not start itself, so she slowly sat up, stretching her sleep logged arms and legs, and rubbed her eyes while letting out a long yawn. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, giving one more long stretch for good measure, accompanied by another, maybe unnecessarily loud yawn.

Today was Monday, and Monday meant the beginning of the week, which is why Audrey hated Mondays. But then again, who didn't? Oh that's right, there was one person she knew who didn't hate them. Alfonzo didn't. Alfonzo loved Mondays, and that only spelled trouble for her. He insisted on waking even before the crack of dawn, and on many occasions, would make sure Audrey was up and awake just as well, ready to work. Every week day, it would be the same routine; Audrey would drag her sorry rump out of bed and scarf down an all too quick breakfast before throwing her cloths on, afterwards rushing out the door with a piece of toast hanging out of her mouth and tying her tangled brown waves up into a loose bun with a small hair-tie. After putting herself together and mourning the loss of a few precious hours of sleep, she would trudge to Alfonzo's work station, located at the very North of Aboda village, where he would no doubt already be working on his train, waiting for her to accompany him so they could depart on a ride and start making deliveries to other nearby towns or taking calls on people needing work done on their trains.

Audrey was, for a better lack of words, good with trains. She could point out and list it's entire anatomy along with suggesting better parts for an engine or spotting a flaw before it spelled problems for any engineer, along with being able to conduct one with a grace possessed by few. She had learned everything she knew about them from her late father, whom had all too soon passed away along with her beloved mother due to a horrible disease that had almost wiped the village's population down to a clean zero. She had been lucky enough to overcome the sickness with her young and still strong immune system, but her aging parents weren't so lucky, and were taken from the world when Audrey was only 16 years of age. Of course, she had already been considered an adult, and could survive just fine by herself. But losing her parents had taken away the only family she had left, and when they went, a sense of security had been taken away from her. She had felt utterly and completely alone for the first time in her young life.

That was until she had met Alfonzo. He had truly been a God-sent and had helped her keep her feet on the ground by taking her under his wing. The fact that he was a grade-A engineer hadn't hurt much either. Between their mutual love for trains and both having no family around whatsoever, they had started working with each other and had formed a close and strong friendship. She had since then always considered him a big brother and guardian of sorts. He was about five years older than herself, and they got on just fine. He was her family and she was his, blood or no blood, they had been there for each other and that was what really mattered.

Along with Alfonzo, Audrey had made a few other friends throughout the village as well. One in particular being a young lad with a heart of gold and a dream to become an expert on the very thing Audrey had a passion for. Engineering. Granted, he was a bit young, and admittedly irresponsible at times, but he had a fire in his eyes, and a playful child-like outlook on life, which was why she loved the little squirt. He could pull her out of any bad mood with just a sweet smile, and she was thankful for that. And the fact that the kid drove Alfonzo up a wall brought some entertainment into her life as well, but she knew more often than not they were just being boys and were still good friends with a sort of teacher-student bond, and she wasn't going to argue with that.

The kid was pretty decent with trains, and had excelled so much so that Alfonzo had deemed him ready to receive the title of official engineer. And today being the day Link would accept his diploma, Alfonzo had given Audrey the day off as well so they could all go with Link to Castletown, where the ceremony would take place in her highness' royal palace. Link had been very excited to hear that he would actually get to meet Princess Zelda herself, and even more so to hear that she would present him with the actual document. Audrey was truly happy for him and excited to see him take the next step in his life. Alfonzo had puffed up like a proud father when Zelda had accepted the request to do the ceremony, considering he was the one who had given Link all his training. All in all, the hard work had paid off and Link would now legally be able to conduct a train all by himself. He would make a very fine engineer, Audrey had no doubt about that.

She did however, doubt the necessity of having the ceremony so early in the morning. But she was looking forward to taking a trip to Castletown, since she hadn't been there for quite some time. With that thought in mind, she eventually pulled herself out of bed and practically crawled to the kitchen to dig up some breakfast. After groggily preparing and eating some eggs and toast along with a glass of orange juice, she took a quick shower to wake herself up and combed all the tangles out of her dark-brown waves of hair, which was always an excruciating process. After that was all well and done, she brushed her teeth and went back to her bedroom to throw something presentable on. Her usual outfit consisted of a rough work tunic and pants that she usually rolled up to her knees, and high-top working boots were always essential.

But today called for something a little more presentable. One thing was for certain though, Audrey did not wear dresses. She didn't own one and she never would. They were downright pointless in her opinion; always having to make sure your legs were crossed when sitting, and forget about riding a horse or sparring! And for what? 'To look prim and proper like every lady should' her mother would say. Well Audrey wasnt worried about being a lady, she was a tough girl who could stand her own and take anything life threw at her, and she was going to dress the way she saw fit. She wouldn't be caught dead in a dress, much less own one.

She did, however, have a few nicer tunics, one in particular that her mother had made for her with her own two hands(after realizing that her daughter wouldn't wear anything even close to a skirt)being her favorite. Made of a very lovely purple silk, a few pearl buttons at the neckline to keep together or let loose according to preference, with sleeves reaching down to mid forearm and beautiful emerald green embroidery decorating the neckline, sleeve ends and hem of the shirt all together. She decided to wear this one, not only because of its charm, but also because it made her feel close to her mother and that always brought comfort and confidence. She paired the flattering tunic with black tights that had lace just at the ends and slipped on a pair of dark grey flats. After changing out of her night cloths and into her outfit for the day, it was time to deal with her mess of hair. Deciding to just pull it up into a messy bun, leaving a few strands to hang here and there, she turned and looked in the full length mirror hanging from the inside of her small closet door. Checking herself over one last time, she nodded to herself. Much better than a silly old dress.

She reached for her satchel and pulled out some money to take with her in case she spotted anything in Castletown worth buying. She slipped the bills into her shirt pocket and reached for her sword before departing from her bedroom. It wasn't much, just a simple double sided blade with a hilt small enough for her hands. It had been a gift from her father on her 16th birthday before they had passed, and she never left town without it. Her mother had insisted on waiting until she was older, but her father had assured her that it would be wise to give her one now and show her how to use it, because 'evil has a way of finding even the most innocent of places, especially when your guard is down'. Pops would always say things like that, but Audrey didn't doubt him. There had been monsters spotted in Aboda village before, and she had no doubt that there would be again. She was fairly handy with the sharp little weapon; her father had shown her the basics, and Alfonzo would spar with her every once in a while, just to keep up skill, (and make sure his 'little sister' was well prepared, because he could be a real worry-wart at times).

After sheathing her sword in it's scabbard and tying it around herself so that it rested against her hip, she left her room and made for the front door. She stepped outside and locked the wood door behind her. It was a bright and sunny day, with few clouds in the sky and only a slight breeze. It made Audrey glad she had decided to put her hair up, because of the heat in the air. She made her way down the path leading from her front door and took the short trail leading to where Alfonzo's train would be parked and ready to take off. The birds were singing in the shade trees and a few of the village children had taken advantage of a small spring residing behind those trees to cool off, an excited dog trailing around the waters edge, looking for a good place to hop in and join the fun. She continued her way down the path until she reached the station where Alfonzo was nonchalantly leaning against the rail on the train engine, seeming to enjoy the sun with his eyes closed. He had reasonably tan skin, and was used to working long hours out in the sun, whereas Audrey usually burned within five minutes of being outside for too long on particularly hot days with no protection.

"Good morning Al", she exclaimed in a bright voice as she approached the steps that led up to the train itself. "Mornin' sunshine" he said with a half smile and his eyes still closed. "I'm surprised you were able to get up this early" he chuckled and opened his eyes to watch her climb aboard. "Hey, I'm full of surprises, and I could wake up any time I wanted" she quipped, brushing off his teasing.

"Not without ripping some poor fools head off". He bit back another chuckle as she turned around and gave him a look through squinted eyes. "Yeah, well that poor fool would most likely be you".

"Eh heh heh". Alfonzo let out a nervous laugh and tugged at his collar, noticeably swallowing and growing tense. Oh yes, she could still put him in his place when she needed to. Any person with a smidgen of common sense knew not to mess with her in the mornings.

They continued chatting while waiting for Link to show up so they could head out, when they heard someone barreling their way, effectively scaring the life out of a flock of innocent chickens in the process. A mess of blond hair and a pair of wide eager eyes appeared in front of them, giddy and out of breath. " Well there's our pride and joy!" Alfonzo let out a laugh and gestured for Link to come aboard. He nodded and scampered up the steps to stand next to Audrey. He beamed up at her and she couldn't help a warm smile that spread across her lips as she lifted a hand to ruffle his golden locks. He had grown so fast since she had met him; he was now 12 years of age and the top of his head easily reached Audrey's shoulder. She had always looked out for him and he had proudly claimed her as his big sister not long after they became friends. Seeing him now made her proud to have helped him learn and grow, and she secretly wished he would just stop growing so fast! But he worked hard and had earned this, so she made do with what she could. "Are you excited for today?" Audrey asked him with happiness in her voice.

"More than I've ever been! I'm gonna get to meet Princess Zelda today right!?" His eyes were shining up at her with enthusiasm and hopefulness. She couldn't help but quietly giggle at his eagerness, and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Of course you are, she'll be the one to host the ceremony and present you your engineer's licence, remember?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Link now had a much too wide grin on his face and cheeks as red as Neeko's tomatoes to match. He seemed to be daydreaming and Audrey could swear that drool would run down his chin at any minute. Now it was Alfonzo's turn to chime in.

"Better watch it lover boy, ya' might get caught gawking at the Princess too long and have your licence revoked!" He let out a bark of laughter as Link's cheeks went from the color of tomatoes to white as sheets. "That wont happen!" The young boy shrieked at his mentor as Alfonzo wiped a tear from his eye. Clearly his apprentice's distress had amused him. Audrey gave Alfonzo a glare and jabbed him in the bicep with her fist. He gave another chuckle and rubbed the spot she had hit on his arm. She could throw a decent punch when she wanted to.

"Al you big lug, don't be a jerk." She gave him one more stink eye before turning to Link and putting both her hands on his shoulders and turned him to face her. He glanced up at her with worried eyes. "That won't happen, will it Audrey?" He asked her in an unsure voice. He could be too gullible for his own good, especially when Alfonzo took to pestering him.

"That wont happen bud, don't you worry. You've earned that licence fair and square!" She gave him a sweet grin and ruffled his light mop of hair. He smiled back at her with a new found confidence, and turned to Alfonzo while puffing out his little chest, ready to get to it. Alfonzo gave him with a look of amusement and admiration that Audrey had caught on more than one occasion. Weather he wanted to admit it or not, he was rather fond of his student. He chuckled and gave Link a pat on the back.

"Well now that we're all present and done with this nonsense, I say it's high time we set out for Castletown!" Alfonzo announced as he started firing up the trains engine. He shoveled a few good mounds of coal into the burner and shut the small iron door to let it heat up; sitting in the shelter all night had caused it to go stone cold. He turned to Link and gestured to the throttle where the conductor would take his place. Link looked at him with bright eyes and an excited smile spreading across his adorable face. "You mean you're gonna let me drive us to Castletown!?" He asked eagerly. Alfonzo gave him a smirk and a nod to confirm his intentions, and Link all but launched himself into Alfonzo's middle, wrapping his little arms around his teacher in a grateful hug. Audrey snickered into her hand as Alfonzo almost lost his balance at the sudden impact, but gained his footing and gave his student a pat on the back before prying him off and directing him to the conductors post. When Link had made sure the engine was good and fired up, he gave the whistle and hearty tug and set the throttle forward. With a lurch, the train's wheels took hold of the tracks and started forward while the chimney let out a puff of smoke and started chugging out of the station and eventually onto the main railway that would lead them to their destination. Alfonzo and Audrey took a seat on the bench behind them to watch Link drive them.

"He really is a good kid, he's worked so hard...he deserves this." Audrey mumbled to Alfonzo as they watched the open fields around them and the little white doves that took flight next to the train, beating their wings to keep up.

"I know that, but it's still my job ta' bug the squirt whenever I get the chance." Alfonzo smiled down at her and she let out a chuckle before playfully nudging his side. She knew that he really did care for the little guy; They were brothers in a way. They all considered each other siblings, they had for as long as they could remember. And they loved each other just as much. The three of them would always have one another's backs, no matter what, and that's what made them a family.

Link gave another tug on the whistle with the biggest smile Audrey had ever seen on his face, and Alfonzo let out a chuckle as he stood and cupped his hands around his mouth and leaned over the railing on the side. "Make way for the greatest engineer Hyrule has ever seen!" he bellowed to the world and Audrey let out a chime of laughter as Link stuck his fist in the air and let out a 'whoop!' as the train continued to chug along. Yes, she knew that he really would make a wonderful engineer.


	2. Chapter 2

The breaks screeched and the engine let out a hiss of steam as the train came to a slow halt at the dock of Castletown. Link set the emergency break and they all three exited the train and stepped onto the platform while taking a look around. The town was buzzing with life as busy people crowded the clean paved streets, going on about their day, running errands and the like. This would be the first time Link had ever been to Castletown, and he was vibrating with excitement.

"This place is huge!" He exclaimed as they moved down the steps leading off the platform. He took in all the sights and sounds and a mischievous gleam shined in his big blue eyes. "There'll be plenty of time to explore the town later squirt, you've got a ceremony to attend, remember?" Alfonzo looked down at Link with amusement. "Right!" Link nodded his head in determination and turned to make for the castle itself where the ceremony would be.

"We'll be waiting here for you! Good luck Link! And congrats'!" Audrey yelled to the young boy as he took off towards the kingdom with a wave and a big smile. "And don't be late!" Alfonzo yelled after, watching Link disappear into the crowd. "Sweet kid, but an attention span smaller than a pebble." Alfonzo chuckled and headed back to take a look at his train. Audrey laughed at that and turned to Alfonzo. "You'd be lost without him and you know it Al." She snickered as he rubbed the back of his neck and waved her off. "Yeah, yeah. Well I'm gonna take a look at the engine, we should have plenty of time if you wanna go take a look 'round."

"Yeah I think I will. I'll meet you back here when I'm done, okay?" She had been wanting to take a walk around and maybe stop by a few stores to see if she could spot anything good. "Alright, just be careful and don't wander off too far, kay?" He gave her a stern look and stopped what he was doing to make sure she was listening. "Yes mother." She rolled her eyes as she started off down the street. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." She waved at him and started off down the street.

The first store she saw was a small clothing store mostly for women. She walked inside and took a look around before spotting a rather pretty necklace on rack with an assortment of others. This particular one, however, had caught her eye because of it just so happened to be her favorite color. It was a simple little thing, with a pretty silver chain and a purple, heart shaped stone hanging from it with little white gems encrusting it. The price wasn't bad either, so she took it to the counter and the old woman that had appeared from the back room rang her up. The lady let the necklace dangle for a minute before taking Audrey's hand, letting the necklace slowly set in her palm.

"A beautiful necklace, for a beautiful young woman with a promising destiny awaiting her." The old woman gave her a cryptic smile and closed Audrey's fingers around the pendant, giving her a mischievous wink. "Always follow you're heart my dear, it does know best." Audrey wasn't quite sure what to make of the old woman's mysterious words of wisdom. "Um...thank you...I think." She gave the woman a confused smile and looked down at the necklace setting in her hand. "You are quite welcome love, and remember what I said..." she gazed at Audrey waiting for her to answer.

"Um...always follow my heart?" She raised and eyebrow as the old woman gave her a toothy smile and nodded approvingly. "Indeed, have a blessed day sweet girl, and may the goddess' light and luck shine upon you always." And with that the old woman retreated to the back of her shop, now out of sight. 'Had that really just happened? What was up with that lady? There really were some strange people around here' Audrey thought to herself, but shook off the spooked feeling that had crawled up her spine and looked at the necklace in her palm one more time before clasping it around her neck. She turned to look in the small mirror attached to the rack she had gotten it from, and admired the stone now setting just below her collarbone. It matched her shirt nicely and complemented her bright hazel-green eyes. She smiled and exited the store to keep looking around town.

After making a few more stops and grabbing a bite to eat, she decided to order something to take back to Alfonzo, who was still no doubt tending to his pride and joy. While waiting for the cook to complete her takeout order, she watched the people around her, bustling about and doing some shopping of their own. She also took note that there were guards stationed at a few corners. 'Probably to keep an eye on things around the town' she thought. They all carried long spears with them and wore bright green outfits and caps on their heads with brown boots. There weren't many of them, just a few stationed here and there to keep order. She continued to try to spot each one around her when one of them caught her eye.

He was a good head taller than the others, and instead of a spear, he had a simple looking sword that seemed much too small for a man of his stature, tied with a brown belt at his hip. A rather large shield was held in his left hand, covering most of his arm. He had a broad chest and wide shoulders, with a lean abdomen, and strong looking arms, no doubt from all the training that came with being a member of the royal guard, though he seemed a good deal more built than any other guards she had seen before.

A few strands of very dark hair hung out of his cap, laying at each side of his head and in front of his pointed ears. There was a dark green bandana tied around half his face, covering most of his nose and the rest of his face below it. The only features actually visible to her of his face were his eyes, which were set underneath dark furrowed brows, down-turned in either concentration or anger, it looked like it could have been both. She couldn't really tell what color they were or anything like that, but they looked strange, even from a distance, and seemed calculating; watching and following every movement of the people around him. He stood as still as stone, not even seeming to breath, with a sense of calm about him. But their was also something hostile in his stance. As if he were ready for anything, but all guards would hopefully have that quality, wouldn't they?

Audrey had been watching him for a minute or two when he must have sensed her eyes, because one of his brows raised and his head turned in her direction. She gasped and quickly turned back around to face the counter, where the stand cook had her order ready, waiting for her to pick it up. She handed him the money while trying to remain inconspicuous to the guard she had been observing, and thanked him as he handed her the small bag of food. She slowing turned around to leave, and glanced at where the strange guard had stood, but stopped in her tracks when she realized the spot where he had been was now empty. She looked all around her but could not see him. "...that's weird..." she murmured to herself as she rubbed her eyes and looked again at the spot where the stranger was stationed, but there was still no man standing there, and she wondered if her eyes had been playing tricks on her.

She shrugged her shoulders and began walking again, heading for the platform where the train was parked. As she made her way there, a tingly feeling ran up her spine and the peach fuzz on her neck and arms stood on end. She now felt as though she were the one being watched. Not wanting to seem obvious, she stopped to pretend to dust off her shirt and adjust her hair, taking the opportunity to glance around her for any peering eyes. None seemed to be watching her (none that she could see anyway) so she continued on her way.

"What is up with this place?" She whispered under her breath as she picked up the pace. This town, or rather the people in it, were starting to set her on edge, so she made a B-line in the direction of the train, glancing behind her every now and then.

She hadn't caught sight of the figure lingering in the shadows close to where she had been standing. The broad man dressed in the guard's uniform that she had been inspecting stayed flat to the wall of a building hidden in an ally that was nearby. He had caught her watching him, but hadn't quite made eye contact with her before she had spun around, which gave him the chance to quietly move into the shadows where there wouldn't be another chance of her spotting him. He watched her closely, waiting until she was out of sight to turn and make for the castle. Had she suspected him? Why had he caught her eye? Of course, he knew he was a good deal more built than any of the guards around here, with him having so many more years of hard work and training under his belt than any human man, but he was sure his disguise had been convincing enough. Maybe she had thought he looked like someone she knew? No matter, it was better to remain hidden. He could not risk being found out. He gave one last look at where the girl had once stood before continuing on his way to the castle, remaining hidden in the shadows. It wouldn't be much longer now.

Audrey made it back to the train and climbed the steps leading up to the platform. She looked around for Alfonzo but couldn't see him from where she stood. "Hey Al! Where are you at?" She yelled at the top of her lungs and soon after was graced with the sound of what was probably a wrench hitting the paved ground, followed by a fit of grumbling and cursing no doubt from the very person she was looking for. He stood and dusted himself off before peering over the engine to glare at Audrey. "I'm right here woman! Are you trying to call the Gods down from the heavens!?" He nagged her and continued dusting himself off.

"I brought you food." She said with a smirk and put her hand on her hip, tapping her foot on the ground. Alfonzo peered over the engine at her with curiosity in his eyes now. She held up the bag and waved it back and forth, showing that she really did have food. A big smile spread across his face as he bounded around the train and hopped the fence onto the platform to join her. "Has anyone ever told you that you're the best sister ever? 'Cause you are!" He exclaimed and moved in to give her a rather tight and sweaty bear hug. She squeaked from having the air squeezed out of her lungs and handed the bag over as he sat her back down before snapping her in half. She took in a gulp of air and steadied herself while brushing the wrinkles from he shirt.

Audrey wasn't scrawny by any means, and had a rather flattering hourglass figure with a slim waist and curved hips set in the right place, along with a decent layer of muscle from working with trains. But she was still light enough for Alfonzo to shake around like a ragdoll, and pretty short too, at least for being a 20 year old girl. At a measly 5 feet and 4 inches, the top of her head reached Alfonzo's shoulders, but no higher. He had always joked that what she lacked in height, she made up for in sass, and he was right about that. She could hold her own in any conversation and win just about any argument. She had a good head on her shoulders and was no pushover, but she had a caring heart and a kind personality. A few men had approached her before, thinking it would be easy to make any pretty young girl swoon at the first compliment, but she had kindly sent them all away, not being very impressed and knowing that they weren't the one for her. To be quite honest, she hadn't really ever been interested in the romance department. It had no appeal to her whatsoever, and she figured that if it was truly meant to be, the Gods would make it so. She was just fine by herself with her brothers.

"You know Al, sometimes you really don't know your own strength." She mused as he began digging through the bag, moving to take a seat on the steps of the platform and started eating his lunch. He gave her a sideways smile and took a huge bite out of his sandwich. She moved to also take a seat on the steps and plopped down next to him, enjoying the breeze that floated by, bringing with it the smell of fresh grass and a summer day. As they sat in comfortable silence while Alfonzo worked on his lunch, Audrey couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the words of the old woman she had bought the necklace from. She moved her hand up to it and began to fiddle with the little heart pendant.

"Nice necklace, ya' buy it while shopping today?" Alfonzo asked around a mouthful of food. "Swallow before you talk you slob." She joked and laughed as he grunted and nudged her with his elbow. "And yeah, I got it from a strange woman in the store just over there-" she pointed to the little shop just to the far left of them. Alfonzo glanced over and nodded. "Strange woman huh? She couldn't have been any more strange than you." He let out a laugh as she punched him in the shoulder while giving him an annoyed but amused look.

"She was pretty cryptic though; she told me I have a promising destiny and that i should always listen to my heart..." she contemplated what the old woman would have been getting at and went back to fiddling with the necklace. "Sounds ta' me like some kinda fortune teller, or just a crazy ol' bat ramblin' on and thinkin' she knows everything." Alfonzo mumbled around the last bites of his food and got up to toss the bag into a nearby trash bin. He returned to the steps and dusted himself off, ready to get back to his train.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Audrey mumbled and she propped her elbows on her knees and rested her chin in her hands. Alfonzo walked back to the stairs and stood on the top step with a fist on his hip, the other hand coming to scratch his head underneath the red bandana he wore tied around it. He looked all around and furrowed his brows, "How long does a ceremony like this take? I thought the kid woulda' been back by now..." He scanned all around them, but saw no sign of Link. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned around and was about to walk back around the train when he heard Audrey gasp. He turned to give her a questioning look, but when he saw what she had been startled by, he could only gawk with his mouth hanging open in sock.

Link had finally shown up alright, but he had brought a very unexpected guest with him; there, standing next to the clueless smiling boy, was none other than princess Zelda herself, in all her tiny pink glory. Audrey had gotten to her feet and was still staring at the pair as if they had grown another head. "What...what's going on here?" She questioned, still awestruck at seeing the young royal outside of her castle walls.

"That's what I'd like ta' know!" Alfonzo grumbled as he stomped over to them and pointed at Link. "You'd better explain yourself Link! If this is you're doing, I'll-!" He halted speaking as Zelda held up a small gloved hand and gave him a reassuring smile. "There is no need to worry dear Alfonzo, I am the one who requested that Link escort me here."

"Uh...oh, well alright then..." Alfonzo was truly confused now, giving the children a strange look and scratching his head while glancing to Audrey. They looked at each other for a second before she turned back to the blond pair and nodded to the princess. "If you don't mind my asking, why did you want out of the castle to come here your majesty?"

"Not at all!" She politely responded, "I was actually wondering if you three would be so kind as to give me a ride to the Tower of Spirits on your train...?" She looked expectantly at Alfonzo and Audrey with a kind and hopeful smile. She really was a little princess.

"Your highness, there are many dangers outside the town! And with no guards or proper protection, bad things could happen!" Alfonzo grew nervous at the thought of the princess being hurt or lost, or worse.

"Not with a swordsman like you Alfonzo! I do recall you being at the top of the captain's guard during you time in my service." She gave him a pleading smile and he began to blush. "Your majesty, you are much to kind." He mumbled while rubbing the back of his neck.

"We'd be happy to give you a ride princess!" Audrey chimed in happily, and stared at Alfonzo as he began to stutter. "But...but-!"

"Oh c'mon Al! Its just to the tower, and then we can bring her right back here, safe and sound." She gave him a pat on the back and he grumbled. What harm would there be in giving the girl a ride? They didn't have anything better to do anyway.

"Well...oh, alright I guess...but just to the tower! After that its straight back here!" He warned, crossing his arms and squinting at Audrey. She gave him a big smile and laughed as Link jumped in the air and let out an excited 'Yes!' Before they all headed up the stairs onto the platform. Link ran forward and hugged Alfonzo's leg as he reached the train car, almost tripping him in the process. Audrey fell back to walk alongside the princess.

"So, is there a particular reason you're wanting to visit the Tower of Spirits your majesty?" She asked the princess as they watched Alfonzo try to pry a very thankful Link off his leg. "I'll explain on the way, we don't have much time before the chancellor realizes I'm gone..." She looked back nervously and wrung her hands together. Audrey could see the worry and fear in her bright blue eyes, and became a bit on edge herself. If the princess was afraid of the chancellor, whoever he was, finding out about her going to the tower, should they be worried as well? Was this guy someone they should be looking out for? She glanced around them, looking to see if anyone had been watching or listening in on their conversation. No one seemed obvious, and so Audrey ushered Zelda onto the train and whistled to Alfonzo, letting him know they were ready to go.


	3. Chapter 3

The train lurched forward and began to chug on its way. Alfonzo set a course for the tower, and Audrey turned to Zelda, who was seated on the cushioned bench across from her. "Why is it you wish to go to the tower of spirits your highness?" She asked again. She now really wanted to know, since the princess had been acting rather strangely about the whole thing.

"Please, call me Zelda." She said with a kind voice. Audrey nodded, "alright then, you can call me Audrey." She said back, still waiting for the blond girl to answer her question. Zelda peered out the window, watching the landscape race by with a concerned look in her eyes. "I've felt it for a while now, I wasn't sure until the chancellor started acting strange...or strange-er around me, which is why I fear he may have something to do with all this. A darkness is growing over the land, and I fear it won't be long before it makes itself known to all." She had brought her hand to rest over her heart, with a worried frown on her lips. Audrey could clearly see how serious Zelda was about all this. "I wish to visit the tower so that I may speak with the lokomo 'Ajean' to know if she can feel the same darkness. She will know the best plan of action if we are indeed facing what I fear is coming." She was now facing Audrey again, a grim look in her eyes.

Audrey stared at her for a moment in curiosity and was about to ask what it was that Zelda feared, when the princess gasped and stood to get a better look out the window. Audrey gave her a questioning look before also standing to look out the window. Her eyes grew wide and panic gripper her heart as she took in the situation before them; the tracks ahead of the train were disappearing right before their eyes, and the train would soon run off the tracks and onto raw dirt.

Audrey spun around and ran to the door of the train car that would take her to the engine room where Link and Alfonzo would be. She flung the door open and looked around wildly for Link. He was sitting and talking with Alfonzo about some nonsense and was clearly paying no attention to driving the train. She shut the door behind her and yelled to get their attention.

"Link! Pull the break!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. Link was startled out of his seat and almost tripped over himself. Alfonzo jerked at the sudden noise and gave Audrey a surprised look but soon frowned in concern at seeing the panic and fear in her eyes. "Audrey, whats wrong?" He asked in a worried voice and stoop from his seat quickly.

"The tracks are gone! We have to stop! Now!" She pointed out the front window with a shaking hand. Both Link and Alfonzo looked out to where she was pointing and gasped at a disappearing line of tracks. It wouldn't be much longer before the train would tear into the dirt ground and no doubt wreck. Link was frozen in shock as the train kept chugging along at full speed.

"Link! Pull the break!" Audrey shouted and watched in terror as the trackless ground came closer and closer. Link turned and looked at her as if he hadn't quite heard what she said. He had locked up in fear and confusion. He just stared at Audrey with a dazed look in his eyes, then she shouted at him one more time. "The break Link! THE BREAK!"

He shook his head and gasped after understanding what she was talking about. 'The train...I have to stop the train!' He thought. Spinning around and locating the gear, he grabbed the handle and yanked it all the way down in one swift motion. The train jolted and they were all flung forward. The train shook at the sudden stress of the wheels screeching on what track they had left and started slowing the trains speed.

Unfortunately, it hadn't been soon enough for the train to remain on the tracks; as expected the wheels tore into the ground after sliding off the end of the disappearing tracks. The train was thrown at an angle while catching the ground and everyone was thrown into the wall inside the train. Audrey had tried to grab something to hold onto but her hand slipped and she was slammed into the wall, rather hard. Her shoulder took the brunt of the hit and she felt a sickening pop as it crunched under the weight and force of the rest of her body being thrown. She gave out a cry of pain and slid down the wall, grasping her shoulder and trying not to be flung around even more as the train lost complete control of where it was headed.

The train finally came to a stop, leaning over so far that it was sure to fall flat on its side, causing major damage in the process. But by some miracle, it tilted back so that it remained right side up and with a moan of wood and metal, finally rested in its spot. The dust cleared and all four of them cautiously exited the train. Audrey was still holding her arm, gritting her teeth against the sharp pains that would pulse through her shoulder every time it made even the slightest movement. Alfonzo gave her a worried look and moved close to her side. "Audrey are you alright?" She looked up at him before giving him a smile and nodding. "I'm fine Al, its just a scra-AH!" She let out a hiss and gripped at the sudden shock of pain that ran through he shoulder, wincing noticeably. Alfonzo gave her another concerned look and put a hand on her back, guiding her away from the train. "Try not to move it at all, I'll bet its been dislocated." He frowned at seeing his sister and best friend in pain and vowed then and there to make sure that whoever was responsible for this would pay dearly.

Link stayed at Zelda's side as they all looked around them for any sign as to why the tracks had vanished right before them, after all, things like that didn't just disappear...right? The sky began to turn a dark grey and a storm seemed to be moving in, while thunder clapped overhead, rumbling through the sky and shaking the ground. Audrey stared at the sky, completely bewildered, it had been a clear sunny day only moments ago...what on earth was happening?

Alfonzo's eyes grew wide and he gestured towards the tower of spirits. "What the? Look!" Everyone turned to where he was pointing and let out a unanimous gasp. Something was happening to the tower of spirits. The ground began to quake under their feet and an angry swirling mass of black and purple clouds appeared right above the very top of the tower. Audrey's eyes grew wide and her brows were furrowed in confusion and disbelief. 'Zelda must have been right!' She thought 'Something is very wrong'.

After a few seconds of what seemed like a small earthquake, everything abruptly stopped. The only thing Audrey could hear now was the pounding of her heart in her ears. They all stared at the tower as the dark purple clouds began to slink down and around the tower like tentacles from some ominous beast in the sky. The ground once again began to shake even harder than last time and the tower began to tremble. Everyone gave out a shriek as the tower seemed to start crumbling, but it did something no one would have ever expected. Audrey let out a terrified breath as she watched the scene unfolded before her eyes; the tower was being torn apart! A bolt of dark lightning shot through the tower's core and it snapped into five pieces right there at the center of all realms. Audrey could get no words to come out of her mouth, the shock too much for her to even think. She stared with her mouth open, and almost forgot about the pain still coursing through her shoulder. The base of the Tower was still attached to its place on the ground, but four separated pieces floated above it bobbing around as if in some kind of magnetic field.

Zelda felt her heart clench in her chest with fear as she witnessed what she had hoped would never happen. 'If the tower of spirits was destroyed, that could only lead to one thing...' She was shaken from her thoughts at Audrey's voice.

"Wait...what's that?! Over there!" She pointed to the sky on the other side of where they were standing. They all took several steps back as a billowing plume of smoke headed straight towards them. At first it just seemed like a trail of strange, inky-black clouds, but as it got closer they could hear something coming from it. A sort of chugging noise. It sounded like...a train? The low chugging got louder and louder, and a large train with a demonic face and angry eyes appeared out of the clouds and barreled through the sky, heading straight for them. "Look out!" Alfonzo yelled. Link and Zelda ducked just in time before the train's wheels could graze the top of their heads, and Alfonzo pulled Audrey out of the way, covering her with his own body. "What is that thing?!" Audrey asked with fear in her voice, being careful of her injured arm as Alfonzo pulled her back up. The large demonic looking train took a spot about fifty feet away from them, landing on the ground with a heavy thud.

"I don't know, but it cant be good. You should get back on the train." He looked down at her and frowned at seeing her still clutching her right shoulder, but his thoughts were interrupted by a shrill and eerie voice filling the air.

"Out for a leisurely stroll your highness? Tsk tsk tsk, you know that's not allowed." The high pitched voice sounded a bit sarcastic, if not annoyed, and seemed to be coming from someone inside the train but Audrey could see no one. Zelda stepped forward with a look of dread darkening her blue eyes. "Allowed by who? You chancellor Cole?" Audrey gasped at remembering what the princess had told her on the train. She must have been right, the chancellor did have something to do with all this.

The chancellor made himself visible in front of them and stared menacingly at the princess. "Who else? Who do you think is really in charge?" A wretched smile curled on his face, revealing rows of sharp jagged teeth. Audrey looked at him in horror and scrunched her nose up in disgust at the sight of him. There was no remorse in his black eyes, no regret at all for what he had done. This man, if you could even call him that, obviously had evil intentions and was no doubt the cause of this. He began speaking again, and Audrey had to shake herself free of the wariness that had crept up her spine at just being in the presence of this rather small but powerful creature to listen to his words. But as he carried on, somebody appeared beside him.

This person was nothing like Cole; he was a tall man, about Alfonzo's size or even a few inches taller, with broad shoulders and dark hair tied back into a tail, except for two thick strands at the sides of his face, which happened to be halfway covered by a green bandana...'wait a minute' Audrey thought, 'He looks familiar, I think I've seen him before...the dark hair, the covered face...and those eyes...' Audrey let out a small gasp after being able to recognise him. He had to be the man she had seen back in Castletown, only then he was dressed in a guard's uniform. 'He must have been working under cover with Cole, right under the kingdom's nose!' She thought to herself. She noted that he now wore a dark brown sleeveless shirt with red and blue designs on it. She could see his bare arms and noticed that his skin was a pale ashy color. He also had on dark blue shoulder guards, along with a pair of light brown pants that had the same designs as his shirt, and dark heavy boots with blue details on them.

Since he was closer to her now than he was when she had first seen him, she could make out the finer details of the part of his face she could see; his eyes were a piercing golden-yellow, so bright that they seemed to be glowing from under his dark brows, and were strangely rimmed with a blood-red color. They were most definitely not the eyes of anything even close to a human, and she wondered what he really was. She watched as he observed the people around him, his eyes scanning over each face and reading them as if it were nothing. They were like hawk's eyes, calculating and sharp. They conveyed no emotion at all, only watching to see what would happen. The rest of his face was still covered just like before.

But what had really caught Audrey's attention was the man's left arm. She hadn't been able to spot it the first time she'd seen him because of the large shield he had been holding, and now understood why; from about the elbow down, a heavy looking metal gauntlet took the place of his forearm and hand. It looked to be made of a strong dark metal and had long razor shard tips on each finger. It most likely served as not only an appendage, but also a deadly weapon, dark and powerful much like the man himself.

Audrey must have been staring at it for longer than she thought, and was shaken from her trance when she noticed the hand of the gauntlet clench into a fist. She blinked and looked back up to the man's face and sucked in a sharp breath. He was now staring right at her, his gaze piercing and somewhat curious. 'He must recognize me as well from Castletown...' she thought, 'I think he saw me before he disappeared.' They locked eyes for a few seconds. Audrey noticed his eyebrows raise ever so slightly and she knew that now that he did recognize her. She was the first to look away, not wanting to seem too obvious about anything. His eyes made her feel uncomfortable, like he was peeling away the layers of her heart and soul with only a glance, reading her every thought like a book. She could still feel his eyes on her and she tried focusing her gaze once again on the chancellor, attempting to ignore the eerie feeling the stranger was giving her.

"My goodness, pretending to be human is so exhausting. Who knew that chancellor was just another word for...royal babysitter?!" The small, redheaded beast let out a bark of laughter as he taunted them. By now he had removed the two top hats from his head to reveal crooked yellow horns protruding from his forehead. 'He honestly looks like some kind of cross between a demon and a leprechaun.' Audrey thought to herself but stopped herself from letting out a nervous chuckle; now was not the time for jokes, and she could still feel the strange man with the metal arm watching her intently.

The little beast began to speak once more as the tall being beside him silently stood guard, and they all watched him with a cautious eye as he began to pace. "I had meant to keep up the ruse a bit longer. But you pushed me to this princess." He put on a look of regret but all of them could see it was no less fake than the act he had been putting on as chancellor. He then looked over the group and his eyes landed on Audrey, narrowing into cold black slits, and finally spotted her hurt should she was clutching with one hand. "Though it appears that this one wouldn't be able to hurt a fly, what with her injury and all..." The little beast had floated over to Audrey and had a pout on his lips, faking sympathy for the pain Audrey was in. She clutched her shoulder tighter and stepped back from Cole as his pout formed into a hungry grin, "And you are a rather lovely creature, but you are still only human..." Audrey shuddered at the very thought of him admiring her, and let Alfonzo step between them to push her behind him and out of Cole's line of vision. She welcomed the protection and was happy to be away from the monster. She wanted to be the last to have his attention. Cole gave Alfonzo a malicious grin and now floated in front of him.

"Bringing in the boy and the engineer didn't help either." He continued, now giving Alfonzo and Link dirty looks while floating back to his original spot. Zelda chimed in once more before the so called 'chancellor' could continue, "What are you talking about?" She questioned, not entirely sure as to why he was bringing her friends into this. At least she hoped she could call them her friends; she had begun to feel very guilty for dragging them into this whole mess. They had proven themselves good, honest people and deserved none of this. The fact that Audrey had even been injured only made matters worse.

An annoyed expression had taken over Cole's face and he huffed as he began again, "I'm talking about your infernal meddling." He snapped out and his mood went from annoyed to frustrated. But it didn't last long before another wicked grin spread across his face. 'This guy's some sort of bipolar psychopath!' Audrey thought as she began to regret not taking Alfonzo's advice to go hide back in their train. Things were becoming much too serious for her. After pulling herself together and daring to look at the chancellor, she caught sight of the other man again, and noticed that he was now glaring at Alfonzo. She swallowed hard at seeing anger flare in his yellow eyes. His body language gave off no sign or threat of attack, but his sharp eyes sent a chill of fear through her heart and she began to worry for her brother; if a fight were to break out, it would no doubt be between the stronger members of the two groups, and although Alfonzo was a skilled swordman, the stranger looked dangerous and quite powerful. Somebody getting hurt was the last thing she wanted, especially if it was her family.

All she wanted was for herself and her brothers, along with the princess, to get out of there now. She glanced at Alfonzo and grabbed his arm from behind him, lightly tugging at it while moving closer to him, "Al, let's just go. This is getting bad and I don't want anyone else getting hurt." He looked back at her and gave her a reassuring smile while placing his gloved hand over her trembling one that still had a grip on his arm. "Everything's going to be alright Audrey, I promise. Just stay close, okay?" He nodded at her and she reluctantly nodded back. "Okay, if you say so, but I've got a bad feeling about all this..." they both looked back to the Chancellor who was now speaking to the princess again, Link standing close to her.

"But now that those vile tracks are disappearing, the time is finally at hand!" He spread his stubby arms out and opened his hands as if to exaggerate his words. His eyes found Zelda now and he smiled at her, once again showing off rows of razor sharp teeth that couldn't belong to anything less that a true demon. "All we need now is..." His smile curled at the edges up to his ears and he began to shake with morbid excitement, letting out bursts of pitched cackles, "A little help-hee hee-from you, your highness!" He wiggled around in the air like a worm, shrieking with laughter at his revealed plan. Zelda let out a gasp and stepped back with her hand clutched at her chest. Audrey's eyes went wide at hearing what Cole had said and felt a protectiveness come over her for the young girl. Her right hand instinctively reached for her sword at her hip, but she hissed in pain and was once again reminded of her dislocated shoulder. She inwardly cursed at being so useless and made to step forward to put herself between Cole and the princess. Even if he did freak her out to no extent, it was better her than Zelda.

But before she could take another step, she was blocked by Alfonzo's arm gently pushing her back and stepping forward himself. Audrey gave him a confused look but he ignored her and moved to put himself between Cole and the princess. Cole moved back, hiding behind the dark haired man and sneered at Alfonzo. Audrey was now very concerned that things were getting out of hand, and moved to place her right hand on the hilt of her sword, gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the screaming pain in her shoulder. She made to follow after Alfonzo, but he held his hand up at her, telling her to stay where she was. She paused, and after giving him a worried look, nodded and stayed put. Alfonzo lowered his arm and glanced at the stranger before returning his gaze back to Cole.

Audrey could feel the thick tension in the air, and knew things were about to change for the worse. She inwardly pleaded to whatever Gods there were in the heavens to watch over and protect them. She knew that Alfonzo was capable of holding his own and he had always looked out for her, but something about the man with Cole set her on edge. He was different; more powerful and dangerous. He had a dark aura about him and her instincts were telling her to run away as fast as her legs could carry her. But they had all been thrown in this with no warning and she knew the only way to get out would be to fight their way out, and that's what they would. They would fight.


	4. Chapter 4

"I don't know who these two are, your highness. But with your permission..." Alfonzo reached his hand over and drew his sword, holding it out towards the criminals in warning, "I'd be happy to teach them some manners." He stared the two down and stood his ground.

"Nyee hee hee hee hee! How gallant! How brave! How incredibly foolhardy!" Cole taunted him and narrowed his black eyes in a challenge for a move to be made. Audrey watched with wide eyes as the scene unfolded before her, tightening her grip on the hilt of her sword and stood tense, waiting for anything to happen. Alfonzo swung his sword through the air and took hold of it with both hands, moving into a stance that Audrey knew meant he was ready for battle. "Enough out of you!" He growled, taking a step towards the retreating chancellor, "My family has served the royal house for generations!"

Audrey could tell that he was done playing games, and knew that his next move would throw everything into chaos. Her heart was still pounding against her ribcage as she took a cautious step forward, not wanting to spark any unnecessary fighting. "Al be careful!" she pleaded, not wanting to see her brother get hurt, not to mention the two children that were still with them as well. Link and Zelda stood back behind him and looked at Audrey with fear in their wide eyes. She glanced back at them before looking at Alfonzo also with worried eyes. He furrowed his brow and gave her a swift nod before turning back to the two outlaws and tightening his grip on his sword. Audrey watched as Cole remained behind the dark man who hadn't spoken a single world since they had run into each other.

"Melodrama bores me." The chancellor wined, faking a yawn and giving his accomplice an expectant look. "Byrne, would you kindly dispose of this fool?" The man gave a low 'hm' in thought and tilted his head slightly to the side, observing Alfonzo closely. "This man speaks the truth, Cole. His movements are not those of an amateur." He watched Alfonzo with calculating eyes that made Audrey's spine tingle every time she dared to look at them. 'So he can talk' she thought, watching for him to make a move, 'and his name is Byrne...' the thought of him having a name was bizarre to her. He seemed so cold and distant from everything and everyone, with no human emotion or movement to be seen. He was a strange being indeed...

Her thoughts were interrupted by his smooth, deep voice once again carrying through the air. "But he is only human" he spoke with an indifferent tone, implying that he was in fact not of the same race, and raised his metal arm at Alfonzo, readying for an attack. Audrey held her breath as the two stared each other down for a moment and then began to circle one another, studying the other opponent's movements.

Alfonzo made the first move, going in with an overhead swipe of his sword. 'Byrne', Audrey recalled his name, blocked the attack easily with his reinforced appendage and kept on doing so with each hit Alfonzo dealt. The clang of metal and grunts from the two were the only things that could be heard. Audrey watched every move they made, hoping that her brother would remain uninjured, and bit her lip in anticipation of the dual. Alfonzo advanced once again with an overhead swing and came down on the assailant's gauntlet harder than before.

Byrne paused for a moment to correct his footing and pushed back against the sword, now making the two evenly matched. It was a matter of strength and quick tactic that would change the odds. Both attempted to overpower the other, but were locked in a hold on each other's weapons. Alfonzo bared his teeth and pushed down even harder, "I told you, I will defend the princess at any cost!" He grunted out, staring his opponent in the eyes, unblinking and focused.

Byrne shifted at that, and took the upper hand in their matched hold, "And I told you, you're only human." He retorted, no sign of any strain or fatigue in his deep voice. Audrey knew things were about to change for the worse, and prepared to step in to try to help Alfonzo. But before she could reach them, things went even worse; Byrne bared down even more on Alfonzo and shifted so that the swordsman lost his footing. Audrey felt panic grip her as things changed to quickly for her to follow. Alfonzo gasped at the unexpected move, and tried to regain balance. But before he could come back around to block the next attack that was no doubt headed his way, Byrne spun around so fast Audrey had almost missed it, and jammed his elbow down into Alfonzo's exposed back, knocking him further to the ground. Byrne took the opportunity and hurtled his metal fist right towards Alfonzo's unprotected abdomen. The punch took the air right out of his body and he was flung several feet with a force he hadn't expected. He hit the top edge of their train and let out a pained yell as a sickening crack sounded through the air. He slid down the train's side and hit the ground on his knees, before falling forward to lay flat and unmoving.

"Alfonzo! No!" Audrey screamed and ran to his side, placing her hands on his shoulders and giving him a gentle shake. Link and Zelda cried out his name and watched helplessly as she tried to wake him to no avail. He was out cold, and she was useless now that her sword arm wasn't usable at the moment. She cringed with anger as she heard Cole cheer in a shrieking voice at Byrne winning the battle.

"Nyee hee hee hee hee!" He cackled, "Oh Byrne, you do know how to put on a show!" giggling at Alfonzo's motionless body lying in Audrey's arms. Byrne looked down at her with an emotion she couldn't decipher in his eyes, and turned to the chancellor with what seemed to be annoyance. " It was hardly a fair fight, Cole." He snapped at the demon's gloating and turned away from him, obviously done with the conversation.

His eyes once again found Audrey and he paused at seeing large tears now trailing down her pale cheeks, her arms wrapped around the man he had just fought with. She noticed the silence and glanced up from her unconscious brother, locking eyes with the man who had just hurt him and took in a sharp breath at realizing his attention was once again focused on her. 'Why is this happening?' she thought, waiting for him to make his next move, 'how are we going to get out of this'.

Byrne watched as her hazel eyes, now shining with tears, shifted from sad to fearful at seeing him and she gripped the man on the ground tighter to herself, shielding him with her body. She was trembling now and glanced over to where the two children were still standing in shock of what had just happened. He followed her gaze and was reminded of the task at hand. 'The princess' he thought, 'She is all we need now.' He looked back to Audrey one last time and watched as realization dawned in her wide eyes. She saw him look at the children and remembered what Cole had said about needing 'a little help' from Zelda. They were going to use her for something, or hurt her. Either way, Audrey knew it couldn't be good, and took in a shaky breath before yelling at them. "Run!" She cried to the two children, as she stood on trembling legs and painfully drew her sword, pushing the thought of her still throbbing shoulder out of her mind.

The two looked at her for a second with worry, but Link knew it would be best to get the princess to safety. He reached over and grabbed her hand, pulling her behind him. They both began to back away slowly as Byrne advanced towards them. Audrey knew it was now or never. She gently unwrapped her arms from Alfonzo's body and stood, moving swiftly towards the dark man, thinking she could sneak up on him with his back turned. She fought through he pain and lifted her sword once she was close enough to swing it down towards him. But before she could land a blow, he spun around in the blink of an eye and took hold of her sword's blade in midair with his metal hand. Audrey gasped and froze at seeing his angry eyes boring into hers, looking ready to cut her down. He was now closer than ever before and she noticed just how tall he really was as he towered over her, glaring down at her, unblinking. She swallowed hard and tried to pull her sword from his grasp, but it would not budge an inch.

He simply stared at her weak attempts to free her weapon from his grasp and his eyes softened slightly at seeing her courage. She had seemed to understand earlier that it was not wise to pick a fight with him, but now she was placing herself in harm's way, only for the sake of two children. 'Were all humans like this?' He thought to himself as he watched her continue to struggle. He hadn't noticed the two children backing farther and farther away behind him as he held the girls weapon in place.

He studied her more closely now that she was right in front of him; her eyes, looking up into his with fear, were a shining hazel-green, rimmed by long dark lashed that were still wet from her earlier distress. Her hair was a deep chestnut color, pulled up into an untidy bun, with bangs parted at the side falling at the sides of her heart shaped face. She had creamy pale skin and a slightly upturned nose, set above full pink lips of which the bottom one she had trapped between small white teeth. She was fairly short, her head barely reaching his shoulders, with a thin waist and round hips. He now understood what Cole had meant earlier about her being 'a lovely creature'. He had seen his fair share of women, but had never taken an interest to any of them, none had thoroughly caught his eye, and it wasn't exactly his top priority. But this girl, she seemed different. She had captured his attention even in Castltown when he had first laid eyes on her, and there was something about her that drew him in like a moth to a flame. She had fire in her eyes and a determination that few humans possessed. He hadn't felt anything like this when looking at others, and was baffled by it. Why did she have this affect on him? He didn't even know her name, let alone anything about her.

While stuck in his thoughts and still holding the girl's small sword in his claw, he hadn't noticed Cole becoming impatient and was shaken from his thoughts when the children behind him yelled at the girl. "Audrey look out! Behind you!" The blond boy yelled and Zelda cried out her name as well. Byrne saw what they were talking about and was surprised by Cole coming up behind the girl and grabbing the back of her neck, sending what looked like a shock of dark electricity through her. She let go of her sword and cried out as her entire body went tense with pain, and then buckled at the knees.

She felt a shock run through her like fire and spots appeared in her vision. She was slipping into unconsciousness, and saw the man with the claw let her sword drop to the ground after she had let go of it to take a step forward. She had readied herself to hit the hard ground as she felt her knees give out, but the impact never came. Instead, she felt something cold and hard wrap around her middle, holding her up as a large hand cupped the back of her head. She was slowly placed on the ground, lying on her left side. Before losing her vision completely to darkness, she looked up through half lidded eyes and could see the strange man that she had just tried to attack giving Cole a confused and angry look. She finally slipped into darkness.

"Was that necessary?" Byrne growled at Cole who was now inspecting his fingernails with a smirk. The chancellor peered at him through squinted eyes and tilted his head to the side, "I was only speeding things up." He sneered at the girls limp form at Byrne's feet.

"I had it under control!" He barked and quickly kneeled back down to her, gently placing two cold fingers over her pulse point on her soft pale wrist. "Of course you did my friend , but we are on a tight schedule you know." He raised his ginger eyebrows at seeing Byrne check for a pulse on the humans arm. "And no, I didn't kill her, she's merely unconscious...going soft, are we Byrne? I didn't take you as someone who would show pity for such a low creature." Cole gave him a disapproving look and shook his head. Byrne glared up at him before letting the girl's wrist go, standing and turning to face the children. "Let us be done with this." He said in a deep voice and started towards the princess.

She took a step back and let out a scared whimper, glancing from Alfonzo to Audrey, who were both unmoving the the ground. "Help me, Link!" She pleaded. She was unsure of what to do and icy fear gripped her heart. Link didn't hesitate to put himself between the tall man and the princess. 'I have to protect her!' He thought, 'its my duty now!'. He spread his arms, blocking the assailant from coming any closer.

Byrne stopped in front of Link, glared down at him with annoyance and used his flesh arm to backhand Link, sending him skidding in the dirt. Zelda let out a worried cry as she watched him hit the ground and realized with horror that all of her friends had been cut down because of her. She glanced at each of them before turning her attention back to the man who had been advancing towards her. "No! Don't come any closer!" She warned in a shaking voice, and took another step back.

Byrne paused in front of her, contemplating how he should go about doing this. As he weighed his options, Cole took the chance to step in. He floated high above them and conjured dark magic into the form of an orb and shot it right at the princess. She gave out a strained cry as the energy shot through her body, and fell to the ground with a thud. She began to glow with a bright light, and a ball of pure energy lifted itself from her limp form before rising higher and quickly flying off past Cole and out of sight. He looked on in confusion for a moment and then turned back to her unmoving body.

"Good work, Byrne." He sneered at Zelda's body, "that takes care of the first step of our plan." He looked on, letting out a shrill laugh, "Nyee hee hee hee hee! Our work is done here." He glanced at his partner and gestured for him to follow along. "Come now, Byrne!" Cole began to make his way back to the demon train, gesturing towards the princess' body.

Byrne walked over to her and scooped her light body up into his right arm, letting her hang limply at his side. Both Alfonzo and Link were still out like lights, but what the two villains hadn't noticed was that Audrey was slowly regaining consciousness. She moved her head so that she was peeking at Byrne though half closed eyes, watching him lift Zelda's body with his nonmechanical arm. She reached for her sword but her arm felt tingly, and wouldn't comply. She still hadn't regained complete control of her limbs, and looked on helplessly as the two kidnappers made their way to the train they had arrived on. 'I have to do something!' She thought, and mustered all her strength. 'C'mon legs, move!' She willed herself to get up on all fours and again reached for her sword. While slowly regaining her footing, she could just barely make out what they were saying.

"We will take her body to the alter at the top of the tower to await Malladus' resurrection, it will be safe there. The humans are of no more concern to us." He turned to sneer at the three limp bodies one last time, but gave out an annoyed shriek when he saw one of them standing. It was that stupid girl with the hurt shoulder. Her eyes were wide with horror as she heard the words leave Coles mouth. "Malladus? You're going to resurrect the demon king?!" She asked in a shaking voice, still scratchy from having been knocked out. She had heard stories from Link's roommate Neeko about the demon king before and how he had risen to power, reeking havoc upon Hyrule, and knew that bringing him back could only mean chaos and destruction.

Byrne turned quickly to look at the girl in shock. She was awake, and had heard their plan. She now knew the location where Zelda's body would be hidden, and Cole growled at her while baring his sharp teeth. "My, aren't we perceptive? You really shouldn't have been eavesdropping, you foolish girl." He conjured more dark magic and was about to do worse than just knock her out when Byrne came out from placing Zelda's body on the train, and stepped in front of Cole. "If you continue with this dark magic, it will end her life." He glared at Cole and stood his ground. "That's the plan!" The chancellor grumbled, giving Byrne an annoyed look and was about to move around him to finish the job when a metal claw pushed his stubby arms down and he let out a low growl. "What do you think you're doing?!" He barked and gave Byrne a deadly glare. Sharp yellow eyes glared at Cole and he paused, taken aback.

"I gave you my conditions when joining you Cole; no unnecessary bloodshed. There is no need to kill her." He stared the demon in the eyes and the chancellor lifted his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright, its your call. But we still can't just let her wander off back to the castle; she'll alert everybody of whats happened, not to mention who we are and what we've done..." Byrne glanced at the ground in thought. Cole did have a point. If she were to alert the royal guard, an army would have their future location and be hot on their trail. He glanced back to the girl who was still struggling to stay on her feet and turned to Cole. "I suppose we will just have to keep an eye on her." Cole looked at him for a minute before shrugging and moving to climb aboard the train. "If that's what you think is best, then alright. But she's your problem, not mine!" He quipped and disappeared into the train. Byrne watched him enter the train and turned to look at the girl.

She had moved to the blond boy's side, attempting to wake him while still holding her right shoulder. He started walking slowly towards her and noticed that tears were pouring down her cheeks again. He couldn't understand why, but seeing her distraught and in pain wrenched his stomach and pulled at his heart. He observed her failed attempts to wake the boy and continued moving towards her with cautious steps, trying to avoid startling her. He recalled that earlier the children had called her by the name of 'Audrey'. It was a pleasing name and seemed to fit her. He contemplated calling it out to her, but decided against it, not wanting to make this any more difficult.

She must have sensed him coming closer and turned with a gasp at seeing him coming towards her. She stood and backed away quickly. "Don't." She whispered, tears still rolling down her face. "Stay away from me!" She warned, taking another step back. She looked ready to bolt and kept taking wary steps backwards. Byrne held both hands up in front of him to show he wasn't going to hurt her, and stopped in his spot. "I mean you no harm. My orders are to only keep watch over you." He ventured another step towards her and she matched it with another step back. "I don't need looking after, least of all from you." She watched him cautiously and warned him with a shaking voice, "Just leave me alone!"

He lowered his hands to his sides and stood to his full height. "I cannot do that. You know of our plans, and I will not have you running off informing the kingdom." He took another step toward her and she once again took another step back. Her breathing became slightly quicker and he could sense her growing fear. She glanced around quickly, no doubt deciding which way to run. He watched her glance at the two bodies still unconscious on the ground and then she looked back to him with pleading eyes. "Please, just leave us alone." She continued begging and was becoming more wary and started moving farther away, clearly planning to make a run for it.

"I told you, I cannot do that. You know too much. Resisting will only make things difficult for you." He began walking towards her again, quicker this time and kept eye contact with her. She sucked in a shaky breath and turned on her heel to run in the direction of Castletown. She had gotten about five feet when he reached her. He appeared in front of her in the blink of an eye, blocking her way. She didn't have enough time to stop before running head on into him, bumping into his chest. She let out a surprised yelp and stumbled backwards, loosing her footing from the sudden force. She was about to hit the ground when he leaped forward, grabbing her by her upper arms to steady her, being careful not to cut her with his metal hand. She froze in her spot and slowly looked up into his eyes.

Her breathing had quickened and her heart was beating wildly. He had a firm hold on her and all she could do was stare into those golden eyes. Even if they did make her feeling uncomfortable when he watched her, she couldn't help but get lost in them. She stood there, not even a foot away from him now, and lost the ability to do or say anything while looking into his eyes, wondering how he had gotten to her so fast. He was watching her intently, probably waiting to see what her next move would be. She realized that even though he had hold of her arms, her legs were still free. An idea popped into her head and she went along with it.

"I understand" she whispered softly, and stopped trying to pull away from him. She lowered her head to look at the ground, faking defeat and could feel his grip on her loosen ever so slightly. When she looked down she spotted loose dirt and secretly smiled. 'I have to be quick' she thought to herself, and looked back up at him with wide eyes.

Byrne raised an eyebrow at her sudden compliance and watched her closely. She nodded to him and allowed him to keep a firm hold on her without struggling. "A wise decision" He said and took his metal hand off of her right arm, but kept a gentle hold of her other with his flesh one and led her back towards the demon train. She allowed him to lead her about ten steps before making her move. She ripped her arm free out of his grasp, taking him by surprise and quickly crouched to grab a handful of dirt, tossing it in his face. It landed right in his eyes and he yelled a curse while trying to wipe them so he could see. She took this as a chance to race past him and towards Alfonzo's train. 'If i can just get inside and lock him out, ill be safe' she thought and willed her legs to carry her faster. She broke into a full sprint, not looking back to the man she had tricked.

After regaining his sight, Byrne whipped around to see the girl making a break for the other train. He sighed and started after her, having no trouble catching up to her. But by the time he was close enough to grab her, she was already at the door of the train. She had it half opened and was about to make it inside when he came up behind her. She was sure she had outsmarted him and gotten away in time, but was proven wrong when a clawed metal arm appeared next to her and rammed into the door rather hard, slamming it closed before she could set foot inside. She let out a surprised shriek and spun around to see a very angry looking Byrne glaring down at her. She backed away from him as far as she could until her back was flat against the train. "That was a dirty trick." He growled and moved in to grab her arm so he could drag her back, annoyed by the fact that she had indeed outsmarted him for a moment. He was done with this game, and his patience was wearing thin.

She saw him lift his right hand and reach for her arm, but lifted her own to hit it away and used both her hands to push at his chest, attempting to put more space between them so she could have an opening to run again. He let out a low growl and grabbed both her wrists in his metal hand, pinning them above her head. She tried twisting them free but his grip was too tight and she slowly gave up, letting her head hang in true defeat this time and waited for him to most likely kill her. But he didn't. Instead, he brought his right hand up and hooked a finger under her chin, slowly lifting it up. She took in a shaky breath and raised her eyes to meet his intense stare. He gazed at her for a moment and she saw that strange emotion flash across his piercing yellow eyes again, but it was gone before she could make anything of it.

"Why must you make things so difficult?" he murmured in a smooth deep voice, and moved the finger that had been under her chin to trace her jawline back to her earlobe. A shiver trickled down her spine and she took in a shaky breath, still staring him in the eye. "I don't give up without a fight." She lifted her head defiantly to stare him down and he let out a thoughtful 'hm' before dragging his fingertip from her ear down her neck to the spot where her shoulder and the base of her neck met. She gasped at his cold fingers taking hold of the pressure point there and squeezing it.

"What are you do-ngh!" She gave out a strained gasp as her head suddenly began to swim and her body started to go numb. Her eyelids grew heavy and she felt as though she could fall asleep. Byrne let go of her hands and moved to wrap his free arm around her torso as she started to go limp. Her arms came down to push against his chest after being released, but were too weak to do much of anything. She whimpered at the strange feeling and fought to stay awake. Seeing this, he pinched down on her pressure point a bit more and moved to whisper in her ear. "Shhhhh" he lulled to her, "sleep Audrey, close your eyes and dream." She felt his soft green bandana brush her ear while he murmured soft words to her, and started to feel herself slipping away. Her body was going numb and her vision fading into darkness. Before she fell completely into unconsciousness, her head lolled to the side to glance at her big brother's limp body still lying in the same spot. "Alfonzo…" she whispered before finally passing out.

As her legs buckled, Byrne reached down to wrap an arm underneath her knees and lifted her so that he was carrying her bridal style. Her head rolled to the side to rest against his shoulder and she wrapped her arms around herself in sleep. He gazed down at her for a moment before looking over at the man who he had taken out earlier. It made foreign emotions spark within him to hear Audrey call out for a man who wasn't him. He couldn't understand this feeling, and tried shaking it off while carrying her back to the demon train. He would now be watching over her to make sure she wouldn't run around telling all of Hyrule who was responsible for all this and where Zelda's body would be hidden.

He didn't know much about this strange girl, only her name, and that she was apparently associated with the princess somehow. She was practically a stranger to him, and yet she had captured his attention completely. She intrigued him, and he wanted to know everything about her. No one had ever brought on feelings like this within him and he was utterly confused. He looked back down to her face, now devoid of the fear it held earlier. Her eyes were closed and her pink lips slightly parted.

"What are you doing to me?" He whispered more to himself, considering she couldn't hear him at that moment. He wasn't sure how much her presence would change things in the plan, but he did know one thing for sure. He was going to use this time to find out everything he could about her. Every detail of her life and every dream she'd ever had, he wanted to know it all. Sooner or later, she would wake and he would be able to speak with her. He would find out why she made him feel the things he felt, but for now he would watch over her, and let her sleep. He carried her onto the demon train, and with a clang of metal, the door locked behind them


	5. Chapter 5

Byrne carried Audrey into the train car and after locking the door behind him securely with dark magic, went to the seat opposite of where he had sat Zelda's body. He laid her down on a long cushioned bench facing up, being careful of her head, and slowly took his arms out from under her, standing to watch as she slept. Her face was peaceful now and her breathing was soft and slow, her heartbeat calm and steady. She was innocently beautiful, like a flower that had only felt warmth and love its whole life; unlike himself. He was a direct contrast to her purity and virtue. He was corrupt and dark, with a complicated past. He didn't care for the good of the spirits or the world…not anymore. He had worked so hard in his lifetime, putting in years of labor and loyalty, and for what? To be denied the only thing he had ever asked for by the very ones he had served. He would never make that mistake again. He now had a new opportunity to take control of his own destiny, and he would not pass it up. Even if it meant following someone as unstable as Cole. Byrne knew he could handle things himself if need be, and he would not give up this time. He was looking out for himself now, and no one could stand in his way.

He glanced at Zelda's body, making sure it had remained in its spot, and turned back to Audrey's still sleeping form. She stirred slightly and moved to lay on her side, now facing him. She wrapped he arms around herself again and mumbled something in her sleep. Byrne couldn't quite make out what she was saying, and moved to kneel down on one knee in front of her, moving his ear closer to her mouth. He paused for a moment, waiting to see if she would repeat her words. She stirred once more after a moment and held herself tighter. "Alfonzo…" she mumbled, and he could feel that strange emotion boil within him again at hearing the other man's name leave her lips. This person must have been someone she cared dearly about. 'Is he your lover?' He secretly wondered to himself as he peered at her face. The thought of her being with that man, or any other man for that matter, caused that foreign feeling to toil in his stomach and made him clench and unclench his fists without even realizing it. He knew he felt drawn to her, but he still didn't know why. There was something in him that felt a sort of possessiveness over her, a need to protect her and keep her close. But he still couldn't explain it. She was a stranger to him and besides, she was only human. He was a far greater being, with dark power and an immortal lifespan; he had no time for such things.

Byrne shook his head and turned to leave for the boiler room where Cole would no doubt be impatiently waiting for him. He sighed and headed towards the door, placing his hand on the latch. He paused before opening it and felt the urge to look back at her one more time, but fought it off and shook his head again. If he was going to stay focused, he had to forget about these feelings. He would not let such a distraction steer him off course, not when they were another step closer. He had only brought her along to make sure she would not alert Hyrule kingdom, and nothing more. He pushed his thoughts aside and shook his head one more time before leaving and locking the door firmly behind him.

He walked between train cars, and finally reached the engine where Cole would be. He entered and shut the door behind him before turning to spot a beady eyed chancellor sitting at a small table while drinking a strange smelling tea. He lifted his ginger eyebrow and put his cup down on the table. "Well that certainly took long enough. Did the young girl prove to be too much for you?" Byrne ignored him and moved to set a course for the tower of spirits so they could be on their way. A wicked smile played on Cole's face and he stared at Byrne. "It looks like its your turn to play babysitter my friend, that or you've taken a fancy to her." He let out a snicker and Byrne clenched his jaw while putting the train in drive and turning to leave again. "I am only making sure she does not reveal us or our plans, and nothing more." He turned to glare at Cole and narrowed his eyes. The chancellor raised his eyebrows at that and lifted his hands in surrender. "Of course." Byrne glared once more at him before leaving to return to their captives.

Audrey had finally woken to a strange room she had never been in before. It was dark and cold, and her head was still a bit fuzzy. She could see land moving pass them through the small windows on the walls and heard the sound of a low chug as the room seemed to rock back and forth gently. 'Am I on a train?' She wondered to herself and slowly sat up. She put a hand to her forehead to try to make the room stop spinning and rubbed her eyes. This was definitely not Alfonzo's train. But if it wasn't his, then who owned it? And more importantly where was it taking her? She moved to stand up but her heart stopped in her chest. Zelda's cold limp body was lying on the seat across from her, unmoving. Audrey went immediately to it and took a small gloved hand in her own. It was so cold, as if there was no longer any life flowing through her. "No" she whispered and knelt down on the floor next to the seat, looking into the princess' emotionless face. Audrey felt helpless; she was on a strange train with Zelda, and wasn't sure weather she was dead or alive. She tried to get her thoughts straight in her head, but could only feel panic building up. She lifted her other shaking hand to place it on the blond girl's forehead when she heard heavy footsteps coming from the next room over, and they were getting closer. She looked around for a moment not being able to spot a door, when she heard a thud come from the wall behind her.

Byrne approached the train car and put his metal hand on the wall, trying to calm the annoyance and anger Cole had managed to stir within him, while using dark magic to reveal a hidden door leading inside that only he and Cole could access. As it appeared, he turned the iron handle to open it and stepped inside. His first instinct was to check on Audrey, but stopped in his tracks when he realized she was no longer lying on the bench where he had left her. He looked around quickly, and was relieved when he spotted her knelt down in front of the princess, holding one of her hands. A panic had gripped his heart at the thought of her missing, and it baffled him; she was able to bring up emotions within him that he hadn't felt since he was a young naive child without even meaning to, and it was beginning to drive him insane. He watched as she spun around to look in his direction, and saw fear once again flood her face as she realized that it was him. She let go of Zelda's hand and moved to stand, using her right arm to push herself up, but she let out a pained cry and went back down on her knees while gripping her shoulder. He had forgotten that she had an injured shoulder, and gave up trying to resist the emotions still flooding through himself. He stepped towards her to offer assistance, but before he could get any closer, she scooted back on the floor away from him and watched him with scared eyes.

"I only wish to help you." He said in a low soft voice and once again held his hands up, immediately stopping where he was. She looked from his hands back to his face and swallowed before speaking. "Where am I?" She asked in a shaky voice and glanced around her before looking back to him. He lowered his hands to his sides and took another step towards her. "You are currently on the demon train." He told her and watched as her eyes grew wider with horror and she held herself tighter, still sitting in the floor. "Oh no" she whispered under her breath and looked over at Zelda again. The memory of the attack came flooding back to her and her heart began to race. She had failed at keeping the princess safe and was now being held captive along with her. Not to mention she had no idea if Link and Alfonzo were safe or not, or where they were. She didn't even know where she was headed. "Where are we going?" She asked him warily, still clutching her throbbing shoulder. "The Tower of Spirits." He stated, confirming her worry of them still going through with their terrible plan, and drew her knees up to her chest. "What are you going to do with us?" She asked him, glancing to the princess and then back to him.

There was fear in her voice and her eyes, and he couldn't help but feel an urge to move closer to her. She was holding herself tightly and her face was growing pale. " You need not worry about that now. Your shoulder needs tending to." He avoided her question and moved to approach her again, this time without hesitation. She tried scooting away as he approached but backed into the wall. She once again found herself trapped between a wall and her kidnapper, and held her breath as he kneeled before her on his left knee and brought his flesh hand up to reach for her shoulder. She gripped it tighter and turned so he couldn't get to it. "Don't touch me." She warned in a quivering voice and backed even further into the wall, squeezing her eyes shut and curling further away from him. He brought his hand back and stayed still for a moment, not wanting to spook her.

He hadn't thought she was that scared, but he knew he must have seemed an intimidating figure to her, with his inhuman appearance. He could see her trembling slightly and realized that she was terrified. He did his best to soften his deep voice and spoke slowly, "I will not harm you, I give you my word." And it was the truth, he had no intention of harming her. All he wanted was to heal her and take her pain away. She slowly opened her eyes at hearing him speak so softly, and couldn't help but look up into his eyes. They were still yellow and piercing, but had softened and held an emotion she still couldn't decipher. His eyebrows rose slightly at seeing her gaze up at him, and couldn't help stare into her eyes as well; they were still that lovely hazel-green, rimmed with long dark lashes that brushed her cheeks every time she blinked. His breath caught in his throat and all he could do was look at her as his mind went blank. He couldn't move, couldn't think, he couldn't even remember his own name for a moment! All he knew right then was that Audrey was there with him, and that he felt the need to protect her from the world and keep her safe. His heart was fluttering in his chest like the butterflies that were currently reeking havoc in his stomach, and he had completely dropped all notions of ignoring and forgetting about her.

He hadn't been paying attention to anything and had blocked out the rest of the world around them. He barely noticed her shift and sit up straighter, no longer cowering into the wall. She gazed at him with curiosity and tilted her head to the side, giving him a confused look. Her lips moved like she was speaking to him but he heard nothing, everything seemed muffled and he continued to stare into her eyes. He snapped out of his daze however, when her small hand came to wave in front of his face. He blinked a few times and shook his head, coming back to reality. She watched him snap out of it and waited for him to answer her question. "Wha…I apologise, what was that?" He asked her in a husky voice, inquiring as to what she had said earlier while still coming out of his daze. "I asked if you were alright….you seem troubled." Her voice was less shaky this time, and her eyes were watching him warily. He closed his eyes tightly and brought his right hand up to rub his face. 'What is wrong with me?' He thought before giving her an answer. "Y-yes, I am fine." He opened his eyes again and looked at her, watching her eyes study his face and then slowly nodded to him. She was still holding her shoulder and he remembered that he was going to take a look at it. "May I?-" he gestured towards her shoulder, still kneeling before her on one knee. She swallowed hesitantly and fear began to creep back into her eyes. Her being afraid of him was the last thing he wanted, so he reached his flesh hand out to her, offering it in assistance. She paused and looked at it, seeming to contemplate weather it was a trick or not. She must have decided it wasn't, because she lifted her own hand and slowly placed it in his palm. His was much larger than hers, and rougher with years of work and training. Her hand was pale and soft, and disappeared in his as he closed his fingers around it gently. He paused for a moment, unable to ignore the flutter in his chest at the contact, and marveled at the sight of her small hand in his.

Audrey watched as the dazed look returned to his eyes and she began to wonder if this guy was possibly a bit psychotic. Or maybe just socially deprived. Either way, he was still kneeling in front of her, clearly in his own little world when she recalled his name again, and decided that it would be the best way to get his attention. "Um…..Byrne?" She asked quietly and jumped a bit when his eyes snapped up to hers and he gripped her hand tighter in his. She couldn't help a small blush flood her cheeks at having him hold her hand in such a way and shifted uncomfortably. He noticed her discomfort and loosened his grip. He stood, and gently pulled on her hand to help her to her feet. She held her right arm to her chest and stood in front of him. She was immediately reminded once again of their height difference as she had to look up to meet his eyes. He still had her hand held in his palm and looked down into her eyes. She started to lightly pull her hand out of his grasp and he reluctantly let go. She brought it to once again hold her right shoulder and he was brought back to his senses.

"Here, follow me." He led her to the bench she had woken up on, and gestured for her to sit down. She glanced at him before taking a seat. He knelt down in front of her and moved to take her left hand away from her injury. "I will need to examine the joint to know what is wrong with it exactly." He looked at her, waiting for her permission. She gave him a wary glance, but nodded her head and let him pull her hand away before laying his metal one lightly on her shoulder and pressing down on it gently. It was still throbbing, but his light touch sent waves of fire through her nerves. She let out a pained gasp and scrunched her eyes shut, grinding her teeth against the pain. He immediately took his gauntlet away and she moved to hold her shoulder again, fighting back tears. "I did not mean to hurt you." He spoke in a worried voice and she shook her head with her eyes still shut, taking deep breaths as the pain slowly ebbed. "I know, its just so sensitive." She opened her eyes and looked at him, expecting him to be looking down upon her for being so weak. But she was taken aback by eyes filled with worry and regret looking up at her. He lowered his head to look at his hands in his lab and his shoulders slumped. "It is because of me that you are hurt, for that I am sorry." He stayed kneeling on the ground in front of her and she felt utterly confused.

An apology was the last thing she had expected from this man and she truly did not understand why he had been treating her with such care. He hadn't had a problem cutting everyone else down, but why was he being so careful with her? She had tricked him and ran away from him, not to mention attacking him with his back turned! Of course, all attempts had been rather pathetic compared to his obvious strength and power, but still. He confused her to no end. She finally shook her thoughts away and looked to his kneeling form once again. "Was it intentional?" She asked quietly, trying to meet his gaze. He lifted his head to meet her stare and shook his head firmly, "Absolutely not. I would let no harm come to you if i could help it." She was once again speechless at his words and blinked at him a few times before finding her voice again. "Then…there is nothing to forgive." She said softly and his eyes went from pained to surprised as he looked up into her soft hazel orbs, making sure he hadn't just been hearing things. Her eyes were full of confusion, but they held a softness that only few had shown him in his lifetime. He watched her look from him to Zelda's body and worry once again filled her eyes as she wrapped her arms around herself. He realized what was upsetting her and moved a bit closer to her, catching her attention once again.

"She is still alive." He assured her gently and her eyes went wide with surprise and she glanced over to the princess' body again. "She's…okay?" Audrey asked in a shocked voice and she stood to go to the child's body but was pulled back down by his hand on her good arm. She gave him a confused look and he gestured to her hurt shoulder, "you still need to be healed." He gently tugged on her arm and she finally complied, sitting back in her spot. He sat his hand gently on her shoulder once more before looking up at her, "I'm going to feel around for any broken bones or fractures, I will try to make it quick." He once more waited for her permission to continue and she gave him a nervous look, but took a deep breath and nodded to him, bracing herself for the pain that would no doubt follow.

He started off as gently as possible, using his fingertips to feel around the joint and on the tope of the bone. She was letting out little gasps and her eyes were shut tight against the fire running through her nerves. He attempted to remain as gentle as possible, and reached down to take hold of her forearm. "I'm going to need you to try to move your arm, I'll help you lift it." She took a deep breath as he moved his hand away from her throbbing shoulder and unclenched her other hand from the seat. She looked him in the eyes and nodded again, bracing herself and lifting her arm. There was a sort of resistance she could feel in her socket as she moved it towards him, but it didn't hurt as much as she thought it would. He held her elbow in his metal hand, and her wrist in his flesh one. His hands were cold and steady, much unlike her sweaty shaking palms. She couldn't control her trembling from the pain, but fought to remain calm as he furrowed his brow at her shoulder, "that's strange" he mumbled and look up at her, "try moving it out to the side." She nodded and started lifting her arm up to the side, but let out a sharp gasp at a bolt of pain shooting through it. She pulled it back to her side and gripped it with her left hand. He moved his hands away and looked up at her pale face, which was pale and twisted in pain. "Nothing is broken, but it is dislocated." He spoke quietly, waiting for her to open her eyes.

She slowly looked at him and blinked a few times before asking a question, "is it fixable?" She asked, now worried if there was any way of getting her arm back to normal. He nodded once and continued to explain, "it can be easily fixed, we will just have to put it back into place." Her face paled even more at that and she bit her bottom lip, giving him a worried look. "Put it back into place…..?" She asked in a shaking voice and held herself tighter. He stood up and moved to sit next to her on the bench and she watched him cautiously. He sat facing towards her and lifted his metal hand towards her shoulder, but stopped when she scooted away, giving his gauntlet a fearful look. He pulled it back and explained himself, " I can numb your shoulder before I fix it, if you would like. It would be much less painful." He held his hand up, gesturing to her shoulder. He really did want to help her as much as possible, and putting it back into place would most likely cause her to faint from the pain. She still seemed frightened of his gauntlet and he couldn't blame her; it was clad in a dark iron and forged in hell by the demons themselves, with razor fingertips and flowing with a dark aura even humans could sense. He had made it a point to keep it away from her out of fear of harming her, but he would have to use it if he wanted to concentrate his energy enough to numb her shoulder without harming her or damaging her nerves.

She glanced at his metal hand once more before looking up into his yellow eyes that still pierced her every time she caught sight of them. She hesitated and he softened his voice to a low whisper, "I will not hurt you Audrey, i gave you my word." She blinked in surprise at him and was once again caught off guard by his pledge to not harm her. She really didn't get this guy; he was supposed to be a criminal in the process of resurrecting the demon king, and here he was tending to a human girl he barely knew. She really hadn't decided to fully trust him, but there was sincerity in his golden eyes, and she couldn't help but put a little trust in him. "Okay" she whispered softly and scooted back towards him, lowering her hand and giving him access once again to her shoulder. He nodded to her and lifted his gauntlet, placing his palm down on her joint and focused his energy.

At first she only felt the cold metal, but then a warm tingle started in her shoulder and worked its way down her arm, all the way to her finger tips. The pain that had be pulsing through it was gone and she looked down at her hand in her lap. She tried moving her fingers but could only make them twitch, not able to feel them. "Its….completely numb" she breathed out, amazed at what he was able to do with only a touch. He gave her an amused look as she poked at it with her left hand, grabbing her wrist to lift it and letting if fall limply back into her lap. He took his gauntlet away and watched her for a moment. She seemed quiet preoccupied with her now sleeping appendage, and kept poking at different spots, finally bringing her hand up to her shoulder and squeezing it. There was no sign of pain on her face and the color had returned to her cheeks. It pleased him to know that he had taken her suffering away, and he still couldn't understand the strange feelings she was continuously stirring within him. He began to wonder if he wasn't just being driven insane, and looked down at his iron clad arm, his hand balling into a fist.

"Thank you." Came Audrey's timid voice, and he was pulled back to reality. He looked up to meet wide grateful eyes shining up at him and a warmth he could not explain spread though him. He looked down to her still dislocated shoulder and was reminded of what he still needed to do. "Do not thank me, It still needs to be put back into place." He was slowly growing irritated at the unexplainable feelings growing within him and cursed himself for the way he'd been acting recently. He brought his metal hand up to the back of her shoulder and placed his flesh one on the top of her joint. It seemed she was about to say something but without warning, he pushed her shoulder forward and then pressed down on it, hard. She gasped at the sudden pressure and force, and let out a yelp as her joint made a sickening pop and shifted down into its rightful place. He watched her face shift in discomfort, and immediately felt guilty for taking his frustration out on her. He removed his hand from her shoulder and she moved to squeeze it once more.

The uncomfortable pressure she had been feeling was now gone, but she still couldn't feel anything else due to the remaining numbness. She turned to thank him once again, but was shocked to see his eyes filled with worry. 'He must think that he hurt me.' She thought to herself and turned to face him completely. "Thank you….for fixing my shoulder." She said softly and his eyes came up to meet hers. She offered him a soft smile, and his heart once again involuntarily fluttered in his chest. 'This woman is going to be the death of me and she doesn't even know it.' He thought to himself and gave her a swift nod before standing and turning to her. "The feeling will come back to your arm in an hour or so, and it will be very sore. You should refrain from moving it and get some rest. We have almost reached the tower." She glanced up at him before looking out the window. He was right, she could see the tower slowly growing closer and nodded her head. She stayed sitting while he moved towards the wall where he had entered. He placed his metal hand up against it and a door formed right in front of him. Her attention was pulled back to the princess' body and she couldn't help but think of Link and Alfonzo. Were they safe? Had anyone found them yet? How bad was Al's injury? The worried thoughts came flooding through her mind all at once and she brought her hand up to rest over her heart and found the necklace still hanging there.

Byrne was about to leave again, and turned sideways to glance at Audrey once more but immediately noticed the worry in her eyes and her hand clenched at her chest. "What troubles you? Has the pain returned?" He asked her and she could make out traces of concern in his voice. She hadn't noticed him watching her and brought her hand down to fidget with the other in her lap before replying. "Its just…Link and Alfonzo….are they…?" She drifted off in more worry and he recalled the name of the man she had whispered earlier in her sleep. He felt the pang of what could very well have been jealousy once again boil in the pit of his stomach and his fists clenched. Hearing her even mention his name made him tremble with unexplained anger. He clenched his jaw and turned to face the door before giving her one last answer. "Do not fear, your foolish lover is still alive, along with your blond friend. I am not so low that I would take their lives without reason." He snapped at her and yanked the door open, stepping through it. Who was she to question if he'd killed them. Had he not just shown her kindness and tended to her wound? His anger was growing and he made quick to leave.

She was taken aback at his statement and became rather confused. "Wha..…lover?" She asked in a bewildered voice, but received no other reply from him as he slammed the door shut, making her jump in her seat. 'What was his problem? And what the heck did he mean by lover?' She wondered to herself and thought for a minute. Had he thought that her and Alfonzo?….'He doesn't know Alfonzo is my brother!' She realized what he had meant and couldn't help but laugh at such a notion. Yes they cared for each other, but in a way that siblings would. She supposed their closeness could have been taken the wrong way, so she would have to remind herself to tell Byrne that he was mistaken.

But why had he become angry about the topic? Why would it bother him to think she was with someone? He continued to baffle her with his moods wings, and seemed like somewhat of a time bomb. One second he was kind and gentle, and the next he was angry and violent. 'Perhaps he's bipolar?' She wondered to herself and watched the door disappear from the wall where he had left. He had been so calm with everything when she had fist seen him, but around her he had been acting so strange. She wasn't entirely sure what to make of it, so she pushed the thought of him away and looked around the train car for any other doors or openings but found none.

If she had no way of making the door reappear, then she really was stuck. She had hoped there would be an opportunity to take Zelda's body and escape, but that seemed impossible now. Weather Byrne had been kind to her or not, she was still well aware of the fact that he was doing something very wrong, and she was sure Cole was still nearby. She would do whatever it took to get the princess out of there and back to the kingdom. If she truly was still alive, then there was hope after all, and Audrey vowed to herself to not pass up any chances from here on out in saving Zelda from all of this. She would have to fight, but she was willing to. It was up to her now.


	6. Chapter 6

Byrne once again made his way to the engine room, preparing to steer the train towards the tower and stop in the station at the bottom level; Cole had refused to steer the train simply because he believed he was above it, so Byrne was the one who had to conduct it. But he didn't really mind, after having been experienced with them since he had taken care of..…no, he wouldn't think on that now. He had become on edge with all the strange emotions swirling within him, and he wanted nothing more than to be alone and sort out his thoughts. That would have to wait, however, because he was still on this forsaken train with the chancellor, a passed out princess, and…Audrey. How one girl could throw his mind into such turmoil and chaos was beyond him. Every time she looked up at him with those eyes, or when he heard her soft voice and held her hand in his, it was as if something had crumbled within his soul. He had felt guilt and sadness at seeing her injured and crying, and had felt lifted when she gave him a smile. He was happy to have taken her pain away and felt relieved at being able to fix her shoulder. He and Cole had been the reason she was hurt in the first place, so it was the least he could do. Very few others had ever made him feel any sort of strong emotion in his past centuries, but this was something on a completely different level.

All the emotions had come as a surprise to him, and he was bewildered at how even the smallest things she would do would send his heart galloping in his chest and a hurricane raging withing his stomach. But the one emotion he really hadn't anticipated was the anger. It wasn't directed towards her, no not at all. But every time the thought of the other man would flash across his mind, annoyance would pinch at him and his hands would clench into fists. It frustrated him that she was so close with this 'Alfonzo' while he knew nothing about her. The way he had protected her and when she cried out his name had made Byrne's blood boil without warning and when she had even thought to ask if he had killed her beloved, he almost wished he had. He did not want to harm her in his blind fury at her mentioning the engineer again, so he had left the room as quickly as possible. He had to admit that his temper could very quickly get the best of him, it had happened before. Something would spark within him and he could see nothing but red. He supposed it was because of everything that had happened to him these past few years. He'd had his hope ripped away from him in the blink of an eye and was left with a broken soul and a bitterness in his heart.

More than anything, he yearned for revenge. He craved it and when he wanted something, he would work for it nonstop until it was in his grasp. Someone had once told him that he was choosing the wrong path and that he was being a fool. But he hadn't really been given a choice. To fall back to where he had started was out of the question, and so he had found others to help him in his climb to power. The spirits may have denied him the gift of their power, but it was no matter; he would find a power even greater and darker than theirs and he would show them along with all who doubted him that he was capable of anything. In due time, he would succeed in gaining what he wanted and no one would stand in his way.

_

Audrey paced back and forth in the isle of the train car, worrying at he bottom lip with her teeth. It had been about a half hour since Byrne had left and she had taken the chance to try and devise a plan to get herself and Zelda out of there and to safety. She had regained feeling in her arm once again, and as Byrne promised, it was incredibly sore. The jolting pain was now gone however, and she was thankful that he had helped her. 'Such a strange man' she thought. He had been so willing to help her right after he'd kidnapped her and it truly made her head spin when his mood did a complete turn. But she supposed working with someone like Cole could make you that way. She wanted to be as far away as possible from the chancellor at all times, of that she had no doubt. But Byrne…..he was…different. On the outside he was a cold, deadly warrior with a need for vengeance. But every time she looked into his eyes, she saw something through his rough exterior; she saw someone with a lost soul, someone who had gone through more struggle than anyone should have to endure. There was so much confusion and turmoil raging through those golden pools, that every time she looked up into them, it tugged at her heart and she couldn't help but feel sad for him. She knew nothing about him, and yet she felt she could see right into his tormented soul. Why he had acted the way he did towards her she still couldn't understand, but it only added to her belief that he had a kind heart under that cold hard shell. 'Perhaps he just needs his space?' She wondered. He did seem like a man who preferred his personal space, but he had been so close to her, and had even spoken with her and fixed her injury!

Her mind kept wandering to him, and it was becoming quite frustrating. Audrey couldn't tell weather she should trust him to not harm her, and she still wasn't exactly sure what both him and Cole were going to do with Zelda. She couldn't be distracted now, she had to figure a way out of this! But how was she going to get out without them knowing? There were no doors and the windows were all bolted shut. She sighed and returned to the bench she had sat on before, and slumped down in defeat. She was beginning to lose hope, and looked glumly over at Zelda's still unconscious body. They were being taken to the Tower of Spirits, so she guessed that when they arrived, Byrne would return for them. Zelda was who they really needed, so what was going to happen to her? Were they going to kill her after all? Or maybe just lock her away in a dungeon where she would rot. Whatever the outcome was, it couldn't be good, so Audrey got back up a began pacing again. She glanced out the window and noticed the Tower of Spirits growing even closer. They would be pulling in any moment now, and she grew even more nervous. What was she going to do? Should she make her move now or wait until a better moment? It would probably be a wiser decision to wait until the situation was more stable.

She sat back down in her seat and pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them and resting her chin on her knees and gazing out the window at the tower of spirits. She watched as the disconnected pieces bobbed above one another and wondered if it was even possible to repair it. Maybe if it were to be put back together, Malladus could once again be captured? She could only hope. She also hoped that Link and Alfonzo were alright; Link had only been knocked out but she knew Alfonzo was hurt pretty bad, and she prayed that he would be okay. "Wherever you guys are," she whispered, looking up to the sky through the small window, "please be okay." She felt tears prickle in her eyes and she squeezed them tightly shut. She would be strong for them. She would find a way out of this.

_

Byrne pulled the large iron lever of the train down to slow its speed as they entered the station of the tower. It was darker than usual, and he could feel the negative energy coursing through it. Malladus was free, and he was regaining his power slowly but surly. Byrne yanked the throttle to a halt and the demon train gave a low hiss as it halted to a stop. He but the break on and turned to Cole who was still nonchalantly sipping his tea at the small table in the engine room.

"I can feel his power, he has risen from the shackles." Byrne spoke with triumph in his voice and Cole smiled maniacally, nodding his head in agreement. "Indeed, his resurrection draws closer. We will wait for his full detachment and then he will enter the vessel." Cole turned to look at the door that led out to the train car and glanced back at Byrne. "Bring the body to the alter at the top, and keep the girl away from the sage, wherever she is. She will only cause trouble." He gave Byrne one last nod before exiting the train and looking around for the guardian of the tower. Byrne turned to head for the train car where the princess and Audrey still were. He reached the outside wall and placed his gauntlet on it, focusing his energy and imagining a door appearing with a handle. Soon enough, it carved into the wall and he reached for the handle. He gripped it and gave it a turn, pushing it open and stepping inside.

_

Audrey's eyes had begun to droop while staring out the window at the scenery passing by, but was alerted when the train began to slow and entered what seemed like an indoor platform. She rose from her seat and stood on the tip of her toes, peering out the window to get a better look. The train let out a low hiss as the breaks kicked in and the demon train came to a complete stop. Audrey could see stone walls surrounding them, and a set of stairs at the far end of the platform. 'We must be inside the tower of spirits' she thought, and could feel her heart begin to race; if they had reached the tower, Byrne would probably be coming to get Zelda's body and herself. She glanced at the wall where the door had appeared before and grew nervous. Should she try to make a break for it once he opened the door? Or maybe wait until he had Zelda outside so she could make off with her? But Byrne would no doubt catch her; he had proven to be quite agile and she couldn't hope to outrun him. She huffed and wrapped her arm around herself, resting her forehead against the windowpane. Things were happening too fast for her to come up with a stable plan, and she once again felt completely helpless. 'I suppose ill just have to take the chance when i see it…' she thought and let out a long sigh. She would just have to wait until the opportune moment, and then she would get Zelda out of there.

Audrey had been so deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the door once again appear on the far wall, nor had she seen Byrne enter and quietly walk up behind her.

She continued to look out the window at her surroundings and noticed there was not one person in the tower. She had heard from one of Neeko's tellings that there was a sage who guarded of the tower itself, and who was also in fact a Lokomo. All Audrey really knew was that is was an elderly woman named Anjean. She had at first been skeptical about someone so aged guarding something so important, but she then learned that Lokomos were very powerful beings who had been gifted the light of the spirits. She had asked Neeko how they were chosen to take on such a task, but he hadn't really known; in his lifetime, there had only ever been one set of Lokomos and he had never witnessed any new ones step up. However, he had mentioned hearing a rumor about Anjean taking on an apprentice at one point, but had cut her teachings short due to some sort of incident and that had been the end of it. He knew nothing further and had moved on to a tale of the open seas and something about a king of the ocean.

Audrey gave one last look out the window, hoping to spot any sign of the guardian of the tower, but still saw nothing. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment and she rested her forehead again on the windowsill. She began to feel lost and out of hope, when was startled out of her thoughts by a deep voice sounding behind her.

"What troubles you?" Byrne asked softly, taking note of her melancholy posture. She jumped slightly and spun around to face him, letting out a sharp gasp and clutching a hand over her heart. He noticed her shock and took a step towards her, "my apologies, I did not mean to scare you." She stared at him wide eyed for a second, then slowly calmed, realizing that it was him and not someone worse, like Cole.

She shook her head and moved away from the window, "It's nothing." She said quietly and looked up into his strange yellow eyes. She saw a hint of concern flash across them, but they quickly went back to neutral. He cocked his head to the side, observing her for a moment before nodding and turning to look at Zelda's body. He walked over and scooped her body up in one arm as he had done before, letting her hang limply at his side right side. He turned back to Audrey and saw her eyes looking over the princess with worry.

"I will move her to the top of the tower where her body will remain, I will not harm her." He assured her in his deep voice, giving an unblinking stare. She looked up from the princess to his eyes, searching them for any hint of his statement being a lie. She could only see honesty in the golden depths and reluctantly nodded. He turned away from her and headed towards the door from which he had entered, now with Zelda in tow. He stopped at the door and tuned to look at Audrey still standing in her spot. He appeared to be contemplating something, and gazed at her for a moment before speaking again, " I think it would be best if you came along, it is after all my duty to keep close watch over you." His voice was still as smooth and deep as she had first heard and she noted the butterflies making themselves subtly known in her stomach. She raised her brows at him in question, but nodded nonetheless and followed to now stand beside him. If he was going to let her off the train, she wouldn't argue.

When he first opened the door, she could see through it and into the engine room. There was a small table with maps sprawled over the top and a chair beside it. The coals were still smoldering in the burner from their recent travels, but other than that it was empty. 'Where had Cole gone to?' Audrey wondered to herself and made a mental note to keep an eye out for him. She followed Byrne to another door and stood behind him as her pushed it open. He stepped down and onto the platform and she walked forward to stand in the doorway. She had to shield her eyes for a moment because of the light she wasn't used to; the train car had been rather dark with small windows that had barely let any light in. Even while inside the tower, the daylight made her eyes sting and she took a second to adjust. Byrne had turned to look up at her from his spot and watched as she rubbed her hazel eyes and blinked rather animatedly. His eyes had adjusted quickly to the light because of his heightened senses, but he gave her a moment seeing as she was human.

After being able to actually see around herself, Audrey stepped down onto the platform and took a better look around. From where they stood, there was no sign that the tower had even been touched, but that was only because they were at the base which had a ceiling to block their view of the other floors. She furrowed her brows and looked to the set of stairs she had spotted upon their arrival. 'They must lead up to the other floors' she thought, and glanced from them to Byrne. He slowly strode up to her while she had been deep in thought once more, and she looked up at him with a troubled look in her eyes.

"If the tower has been broken apart, how will we climb to the top?" She asked, and he could see the innocent confusion in her eyes. He shook his head and lifted his right hand out to her, his palm open and waiting.

"We will not be taking the stairs." He told her in a low quiet voice and looked down into her hazel-green orbs, shining with curiosity. She gave his hand a skeptical look and peered up at him with disbelief.

"Then how else are we supposed to reach the top?" She inquired while crossing her arms, and watched as an amused glint appeared in his eyes.

"Have you so soon forgotten the power of which I possess? Surely even humans have longer spans of memory than this." He quirked an eyebrow and she could see the glint of mischief in his eyes. He was teasing her. She gave him an annoyed look and rolled her eyes, not being able to fight the smile that turned her lips up. She had been shocked at him actually being able to joke, but he seemed no less amused.

"Well then Mr. 'Power', lets see it." She stood in front of him and patiently waited for his response. A low chuckle rumbled through his chest and she felt a blush flood her cheeks; though she couldn't see the smile on his face due to his green bandana, the sound of his laugh strangely made the butterflies in her stomach dance. She looked down to his still outstretched hand, trying to hide her blush and slowly raised her hand towards his. She hesitated for a moment, her palm hovering just above his and she stared at it, wondering weather it would be dangerous to trust his power or not. He noticed her hesitation and the nervous look in her eyes.

"I stand by my word Audrey, no harm will come to you. I will simply transport us to the top, it is completely safe." His low voice held truth and she slowly nodded, never taking her eyes away from his. She gently placed her small hand in his and he closed his fingers softly around it. He once again felt the strange emotions swirl within him at feeling her tiny hand in his, and he froze for a moment, catching sight of the blush that had turned her cheeks a flattering shade of pink. His mouth went dry and his heart was running a rampage behind his ribcage. He swallowed thickly and blinked himself back to reality. Her hazel eyes were looking shyly up at him and he could feel his knees going weak. 'What is this spell she has cast over me?' He wondered inwardly and stood taller, trying to forget the butterflies flitting about in his stomach. He cleared his throat, "close your eyes." He commanded and she gave him a funny look.

"Why?" She asked, watching him closely. If he wanted her to close her eyes, was he going to try something? Maybe just kill her and be done with it? She grew nervous at the thought and could feel the blood drain from her face. He noticed this and took a step closer to her, giving her a worried look.

"I only meant so that you would not be frightened; transporting can be an off putting experience, especially for those who are doing it for the first time." He watched as she listened to his words and some of the color returned to her face. He inwardly cursed himself for being so forward, but Audrey could see that he had no intentions of turning on her and slowly closed her eyes. Her lashes brushed against her cheeks and her brows were slightly knitted. He watched her for a moment before leaning in closer to whisper to her, "are you ready?" His voice was low and quiet and she could feel his cool breath ghost across her cheeks. She swallowed noticeably and shook her head nervously. His fingers tightened around hers and she all at once felt light as air. The ground had disappeared from underneath her feat and everything sounded muffled. She kept her eyes tightly shut and gripped Byrne's hand tighter. He kept his eyes on her while transporting them and felt his heartbeat quicken at feeling her small hand grip his. It was about ten seconds before they felt their feet once again on firm ground. Audrey's body felt like its normal weight again and she regained her balance. There was wind brushing past her and a chill in the air. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a soft gasp.

She was looking out upon the land of Hyrule at a height she had never experienced in her entire life. She could see the different hues of green and brown in the fields for miles around and the shadows of the clouds moving across them. Flocks of birds rode the wind past them and she felt as if she could reach out and touch them. The sky was a light shade of blue and the air was crisp and cool. Audrey took in a deep breath through her nose and couldn't help the content smile that spread on her lips. She forgot about everything around her and reveled in the feeling of peace that had settled over her.

Byrne watched as her bright hazel eyes lit up and her mouth parted open ever so slightly with amazement. A small smile played on her full pink lips and he felt his soul begin to melt. The breeze blew a few strands of her wavy chestnut hair softly around her and he couldn't help but sigh contentedly at such an innocently beautiful sight. He once again felt unexplainably drawn to her and took a step closer so that he was right next to her, still holding her hand. He caught the scent of lilies coming off her and inhaled deeply, reveling in being so close to her. Indeed he knew very little about her and had only met her this day, but he could not deny any longer that there was something special about this girl. She had uncountably cast a spell upon him and his heart and soul pulled towards her even more. He recalled his thoughts earlier of finding out more about her, and spoke softly into her ear, not wanting to startle her, " you enjoy nature?" He inquired and she nodded her head slowly, never taking her eyes away from the view.

"The view is beautiful up here." She whispered and blinked dreamily as another breeze floated lazily by, gently twirling around her.

"Yes…..it is" he also whispered, never taking his eyes off her. He watched as she took a few steps forward, towards the railing on the edge and he reluctantly let her hand slip from his, tracing her fingers with his own as she went. She paid no mind to his touch and took timid steps up to the edge, placing both hands on the top rail while gripping it softly.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back as the sun's rays broke through the clouds overhead, warming her face and arms. Audrey felt as though she were flying and could help the feeling of never wanting to leave this beautifully secluded place. All her fears and doubts had melted away, and a serene calm had washed over her entire body. 'I could spend the rest of my life here' she thought to herself and let out a soft laugh at the thought.

Byrne had went back to place Zelda's body on the alter in the middle of the floor while Audrey had been enjoying the view, and turned to look at the sky himself. The sun was sinking lower in the sky with every passing moment and it would soon be evening. He had been debating on where to keep Audrey while he and Cole awaited the complete resurrection of the demon king. There was of course the demon train, but he didn't like the idea of keeping her cooped up in the dark metal capsule. She seemed to enjoy it here at the top of the tower, but she would eventually need a place to sleep away from the elements. There was his old quarters…..here in the tower, just below the level they were currently on. He hadn't been inside it for over a year now and wondered if his belongings had been kept inside or thrown out. He would have to find out for himself. He looked back to Audrey who still seemed quite smitten with the view and smiled to himself; most humans of this day and age took such things for granted, but Audrey seemed to have an appreciation for the simple beauty of nature still found in the world. "A rare jewel" he hummed to himself, and walked back over to her.

"I am going to go check on something, I will return shortly. Will you be alright here by yourself for a moment?" Came his smooth deep voice behind her and she opened her eyes slowly, noticing the sun sinking lower in the sky. She turned to look up at him but noticed that he was no longer holding Zelda in his arm. Panic gripped her heart and her eyes darted around frantically, trying to locate her tiny body. She looked around Byrne and relief washed over her as she spotted a tiny pink form lying on a pedestal in the middle of the floor. She looked back up to Byrne and noticed that his brows had furrowed and his eyes were peering at her questioningly. He watched her for a moment before turning to look at what she had been searching for, and realized that it was the princess she was worried about.

He turned back to her and spoke in a firm voice, " She is to remain on the alter at all times, do not move her body." The threatening look had returned to his yellow eyes and Audrey felt fear crawl back up her spine like ice. It was eerie how one minute he would be very kind to her, and the next he would go right back to the intimidating being that he was. It was as if a darkness had passed over his eyes, and she was quickly reminded of the fact the he possessed inhuman power, and was still very dangerous to be around. Not to mention that he was a different species than herself, which only added to the growing wariness in her heart. She suddenly realized that she had no idea of who or what he really was, and mentally slapped herself for having let her guard down and being so carefree around him.

She took a couple steps back from him, never taking her eyes away from his. She quickly nodded her head at him, acknowledging what he had said and watched him carefully. His eyes were still cold and hard, but held something else that was too deep for her to decipher. She began to feel uncomfortable under his piercing gaze like she had before, and wrapped her arms around herself, as if it block those golden orbs. She gazed at him with fear in her eyes, still waiting for the moment when he would decide that killing her would be the easier way. He had promised that no harm would come to her, but she didn't know how much truth his words held; he was unpredictable and she vowed to always remember this when her guard would begin to slip.

Byrne had realized that even though Audrey was a mere human, she had proven to be quite a handful, and so he would make it very clear that she was to leave the princess' body unmoved. It was important that Zelda remain on the alter at all times so that Malladus would know where the vessel could be located when his resurrection was complete. The power he wanted…no, the power he deserved felt closer now than ever before, and he would not have her tampering with things. An anger had begun to simmer within him at the thought of having it all taken away and he could feel it growing. His hands clenched into fists and he took a step towards her. She had backed up as far as she could and was now pressed up against the railing of the tower's edge. His eyes were searing now and she began to truly fear for her safety. He continued to walk towards her and stopped right in front of her. He could sense the fear coming from her and it gave him a sort of high as a prey would give its predator. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, reveling in the dominance he possessed. With his race came a set of animal instincts and heightened senses that greatly surpassed those of humans. When anger filled him, it tended to take over quickly if he did not get control of it soon enough.

He felt a break in the haze of red he had been lost in and blinked repeatedly, snapping out of his daze. When he opened his eyes, he looked down to see Audrey trembling before him, attempting to pull her wrist free of the grip he had unknowingly placed on it with his metal hand. As she had been tugging it away, his razor sharp fingers had taken too tight of a hold on her pale wrist and had begun to cut into the soft flesh. Little streams of red ran down her arm and into the sleeve of her purple tunic. "Please stop" she whispered shakily and kept trying g to free herself. There were large tears running down her cheeks and she was whimpering in pain and fear.

Shock hit Byrne and he immediately released his grip on her, stepping back quickly from her and looking down at his metal hand. Her blood was now dripping from the tips of his sharp fingers and his heart clenched with regret. He had vowed not to hurt her, but had let his rage get the best of him. He looked back to her and watched as her legs began to shake and she slid down the rail to sit on the ground, clutching her bleeding arm to her chest and noticeably shaking. He felt frozen; he couldn't do or say anything. He hadn't even been in control of his own actions, and now she was on the ground bleeding.

He wanted to help her, but didn't trust himself to not hurt her again. He was at a loss and could only stand there and watch her silently cry. She was still shaking and he felt his heart clench again. He tried taking a step towards her, reaching his hand out to help but she cowered away, pushing herself into the railing as much as she could. "Please don't" she whispered in a shaky voice and brought her knees up to her chest in front of her, still clutching her bleeding wrist. She avoided looking at him and closed her eyes, anting nothing more than to hide from him.

It wasn't so much the pain; her wrist only stung a little and the cuts weren't deep at all. What had really shaken her was his eyes when he had become angry. His black pupils had shrunk to almost nothing, making the yellow even more prominent. The whites of his eyes had flooded to an ominous red color and had appeared to glow. She had frozen up in fear as he had approached her and she didn't think to run. When he grabbed her wrist with his metal hand, she had panicked and tried pulling away which had made him tighten his fingers on her and cut into her skin. She hadn't known what to expect after that and could only beg him to stop, but didn't even know if he could hear her. It was like he wasn't himself, like he had been possessed by something. His eyes had looked like the eyes of a demon and it had honestly scared the hell out of her. She had begun to fear for her safety and she had only been able to hope that he would snap out of his angry spell.

Now that he had let her go and moved away from her, she wanted to just get away from him and hide. She couldn't control her shaking anymore and felt tears running down her cheeks. She didn't want to be there anymore and really started to regret not trying to get away earlier when they had gotten off the train. Byrne was dangerous and any thought she had of him being a different person underneath the hard exterior was gone. She was confused and kept trying to think of any way to get out of this mess when she heard his voice.

"Audrey…" his voice was strained and almost sounded confused. She slowly lifted her head to look up at him and noticed that his eyes were once again their normal color. He was back in his own mind and it seemed that he didn't understand what had happened. She stared at him for a moment and then sighed, relieved that he was back to himself. Whatever that had been that hurt her seemed to be gone, for now at least. But she still just wanted to be away from him. "Please just go." Her voice was slightly hoarse from crying and she remained on the ground holding herself. Byrne watched her for a moment, and slowly nodded his head. He took a few more steps back and looked down once more at his metal hand, his stomach clenching at still seeing her blood. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose.

"I will return shortly." He told her in a quiet voice and watched as she softly shook her head, attempting to wipe the tears from her face. His heart clenched for the millionth time at seeing her distress and he was disgusted with himself. He turned away from her and lowered his head, shame filling him. He gave her one last look over his shoulder before transporting down to the level of the tower below them, leaving her alone at the top with Zelda's body.


	7. Chapter 7

Audrey sat there on the ground, unmoving for what seemed like forever. She had finally gotten her trembling to stop after Byrne had left her alone and had stemmed the bleeding of her wrist. The four long, thin cuts on one side from his fingers, accompanied by a slightly deeper one on the other side from his thumb, were red and stinging, but other than that they would heal in a few weeks time. The pain wasn't what had unsettled her; she'd had worse before (a broken arm from when she had fallen out of a tree at the age of 7). It was Byrne himself that had frightened her.

He had appeared to have no control of his actions and as she thought before, had not even been himself. He had taken on a completely different demenor; usually he was stealthy and limber in his posture, with light footing and bright, sharp eyes. But moments ago, all that had changed. He had taken on a threatening stance and had walked up to her, shoulders hunched and fists clenching, with what seemed like a harmful purpose. But the worst part had been his eyes, which had morphed into something she hadn't seen even in her darkest nightmares. He had truly looked demon-possessed and she had feared for her life.

Was this a part of his power? Had he meant to do that, or had he unknowingly changed into, what could only be described as, a beast? Audrey had no idea what had happened, and she really didn't want to stick around to find out. She had been too cautious and timid on the way here to make an attempt to escape, but she would have to act soon if she wanted to get herself and Zelda to safety. She would have to put her fear aside and focuse on the problem at hand. Byrne was not to be trusted, even if she had seen some good in him before, he was obviously, and now unpredictably dangerous. She would keep her distance.

Audrey slowly lifted her head to look around and her eyes once again fell on Zelda's unmoving body. She seemed to be unharmed, other than being unconcious, and Audrey was thankful for that. If any harm had come to the princess, she could never forgive herself. She unwrapped her arms from around herself and slowly stood on shaking legs. Looking around a few more times for any sign of Byrne or Cole, she started walking towards the pedestal where the princessess' body was laying limp. She reached the steps that led up the platform and was about to take the first step when she heard a voice right behind her. She felt all the blood drain from her face as she recognised Cole's pitchy shriek.

"What do you think you're doing you little worm?" His voice was full of taunting malice and Audrey felt her body freeze up in panic. She was alone with Cole, and she had left her sword on the train. Her heart was hammering in her ribcage, yet she couldn't bring herself to take a single breath. She slowly turned as much as she could to face him, and was greeted with sharp jagged teeth and beady, black eyes.

"I asked you a question human." He growled, but Audrey couldn't find the words to reply. That seemed to make Cole even angrier, because he drew his arm back, and before Audrey could even register what was happening, she was struck across the face and let out a painful cry as she was sent skidding across the stone ground. Her cheek was pulsing and she could already feel the bruise forming, along with a trickle of blood that ran down her chin from her now split lip. She pushed herself up onto her knees as quickly as she could and held a hand to the side of her face, angry tears now slipping from her eyes; for such a small creature, he was quite powerful.

Cole flew up into her face and let out an amused cackle, no doubt taking joy in her pain. She felt a spark of painful anger at this and swung out with her own fist, aiming right for his jaw. Unfortunately, she missed as he flew backwards and dodged her fist. She caught herself before falling flat on her face and looked up to see his face full of fury. He let out a screeching growl and held both his hands up, once again summoning the familiar dark magic he possessed. It shifted into orbs at each of his palms and his black soulless eyes were locked with her frightened hazel ones. This was bad. This was very bad.

-

Byrne had teleported to the next level below them in hopes of checking on his old room. He hadn't seen it in over a year and hoped it wasn't in as bad a shape as he expected it to be. If it had been kept clean, he would know by who. As much as he hated to admit it, he would be greatful if it had indeed been taken care of. He had put Audrey through enough, and wanted a safe place for her to rest. It was strange to him that he would care so much for a humans wellbeing, but he could not doubt the strong feelings that swirled within him at even the mention of her name. Having her somewhere safe where he could keep watch over her was important now, and would bring him an immense feeling of reliefe.

But now all he could feel was guilt and remorse. He still couldn't understand what had come over him, he had never lost control of himself like that and it seemed to be getting worse lately. He would admit that he'd always had a short temper before, but this was ridiculous! He felt angrier and colder with each passing day and wondered if resurrecting Malladus had anything to do with it. He was, after all, the demon king. Maybe some of the dark magic had just gotten to him, that was probably what was putting him off. Such power would effect even someone of his race.

Byrne shook his head and continued down the corridor to his old quarters. It led to a large, dark blue door that seemed cleaner that it probably should; no dust or spiderwebs could be seen and he half wondered if the old sage had been taking care of it in his absence. He placed his flesh hand on the knob and turned it, but it wouldn't budge. "Locked…" he mumbled under his breath. He closed his eyes, concentrating his power on the latch withing the door and imagined it coming undone. After a second, it produced a satisfying 'click' and he turned it completly, opening the door slowly. He peered inside and noted first that it was very dark. He opened the door a bit wider and quietly stepped inside, his eyes quickly adjusting to the unlit room. All the furniture looked spotless and he silently thanked the Goddesses that it had been taken care of. The bed was made with dark wooden headboards and a canopy of dark green curtains hung around it. He walked up to it and pushed them aside, seeing that the bed's sheets were also the same dark green her remembered, with a few pillows at the head of the bed. They looked clean and obviously hadn't been slept in for some time.

He moved on to the rest of the room, noting that the curtains of the window had been drawn which was most likely why it was so dark. He pushed the black drapes aside and was greeted with the evening sunset. It was growing late and he would soon have to go back to Audrey and bring her here. He tied the curtains back to stay and took one last look around before spotting the door in the corner of the room that led to the adjoining washroom. He walked over to it and pushed the door open, poking his head in to see what had become of it. To his reliefe, it seemed to have also been taken good care of just as the bedroom had been and he breathed a sigh of reliefe. He stepped back out and pulled the door closed again.

He took a moment to observe the room now with more light available. The walls were the same dark blue, just as the door and the furniture was made of dark stained wood. Before, it had always been an escape for him from a hard days work and the stress of life, but now it was strange and foreign to him. He felt changed, and not in a good way to be honest. He had felt farther away from himself than ever before, and wondered for a moment if he really had chosen the right path. He wanted the power he knew he deserved, he was sure of that. But maybe he was going about it the wrong way?

As he went through all his thoughts and doubts, a small voice in the back of his mind seemed to whisper to him, reminding him of how he had been cheated of what was rightfully his, and of how inferior other creatures were to him and his power. It almost felt like an unnatural anger was boiling in his blood, one that had only recently made itself known. It was as if someone was telling him how to feel and it unsettled him. Not to mention how he had completly lost himself earlier and had harmed the human girl. Never in his many centuries would he have harmed someone so innocent intentionally, but it had happened and he couldn't explain it. The mere thought of their plan coming to a halt and losing his chance for power had sparked something within him and he had felt a deadly calm come over him with rage bubbling under the surface, like a predator stalking it's prey, waiting the right moment to strike. But it had confused him, and at the last moment he had pulled himself back to reality, only to witness Audrey bleeding and crying in front of him. He was unsettled to his core and dared not look back to where her blood would now be dried on his razor sharp fingers.

Byrne shook his head to clear his thoughts and was about to turn and leave the room as it was when his sensitive ears picked up something. It was faint and he had barely caught it, but he could tell it was coming from above. He listened closer and realized that it was someone's voice. A girls voice…..Audrey's voice! It had cried out and it sounded as though she were in trouble. "Cole!" He cursed and closed his eyes, focusing his energy as quickly as he could. Not a second later he had transported to the top of the tower where he had left her.

-

The chancellor was floating above Audrey now, squealing for her to stop moving. He had attempted to shoot her with an orb of dark magic and had almost succeeded, but at the last second she had rolled out of the way and ran to the edge of the tower, clinging to the rail and staying as far away from him as she possibly could. Her heart was hammering in her chest and panic was coursing through her veins. There was no way out of this part of the tower, and she had no plans of jumping to her death, so all she could do was be quick enough to evade each of Cole's attacks without getting hit.

Cole currently had her cornered at the edge of one of the railings and Audrey couldnt see any way out. "Now you'll get yours, worm" he sneered and conjured another orb of black magic that was not doubt aimed her way. Audrey let out a panicked whimper and shut her eyes as tightly as possible, waiting for the pain that would soon take over her body. But it never came.

Cole let out an annoyed screech and Audrey couldn't help but open her eyes to see why he hadn't attacked her. A surprised and somewhat confused look spread on her face as she took in what was before her; what looked like a thin, purple wall of energy was between herself and Cole, blocking his dark power. Audrey stared at it for a moment and wondered if the Goddesses had answered her prayers, but was shaken from her thoughts by a familiar deep voice sounding beside her.

"Cole!" Byrne growled, his gauntlet raised out to control the energy of his force-field. "I warned you not to harm her!" Audrey could see pure anger in his eyes, this time directed at the chancellor and she couldn't help but feel greatful that he had shown up. She took a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and watched Byrne stare him down. Cole's glare turned into a taunting grin and he cocked his head eerily to the side, playing innocent.

"We were only having a bit of fun, nothing to worry about my friend." He snickered and sent a glare Audrey's way. She took a step closer to Byrne, never taking her eyes away from the floating demon. He turned to see her move closer and his heart fluttered at being near her again, but his blood froze in his veins when her spotted the tricked of blood coming from her lip. Audrey could see his eyes go from concern to anger as he looked at her lip and bruised cheek and his head whipped around to glare at Cole with rage. He moved to stand in front of her, blocking her from the chancellor's sight.

"I should cut you down right here" Byrne snarled at him and took his force-field down, his hand now conjuring a purple orb of energy, similar to the one Cole had threatened her with only moments ago. Byrne took a threatening step towards him and looked ready to attack. It was confusing to Audrey. They were supposed to be partners, right? She thought they were both working together; why would Byrne go against Cole to protect her? It was all overwhelming to her and all she really wanted was to get away from the chancellor and somewhere safe. She was only human afterall.

Audrey took a step towards Byrne and tried to get his attention. "Byrne" she called out, barely above a whisper. He seemed to be in an angry daze, not moving or acknowledging her, so she cleared her voice and tried again a little louder. "Byrne, he's not worth it."

That one clearly got his attention, because his head snapped to look at her from the side, a pulsing vein having made itself prominent at his temple. Audrey hesitated as he stared at her with wild eyes, not knowing weather to continue on. The look of hatred slowly left, being replaced by concern as he realized it was her. She took this as her chance to try again, and spoke softly so to not startle his enraged mood.

"Everything is okay" she lifted her hands to show him that she meant no harm, "we should just go." She watched as he slowly began to relax and stood streighter, lowering his arms and calling off his power. She lowered her hands as well and looked up into his eyes. So many different emotions were swirling within them that she couldn't imagine how he was even sane right now, but she shook the thought from her mind. He was confusing to her and she couldn't help but feel the urge to know everything about him. He was a complete mystery and she was once again forgetting just how dangerous he really was, but as everyone knew, curiosity killed the cat. And she was a very curious cat.

Byrne watched as she looked up at him, her eyebrows knit together in what seemed like confusion and he blinked down at her. She continued to stare up at him with a faraway look in her eyes and he realized that she was trying to read him. An amused grin tugged at his lips, but was wiped back into a frown when Cole's voice pierced the air, "I don't see why we can't just kill her now and be done with it. She proven to be nothing but a nuisance, and you know Byrne, dead men tell no tale."

Audrey felt here's pace quicken for the thousandth time that day at the thought of being murdered by a floating, psychopathic leprochan. She look over at the sneering chancellor and then back to Byrne, seeing the anger return to molten gold eyes. "You will hold your tounge." He spoke in an eerily calm voice, with a deadly undertone. Audrey had a bad feeling that if Cole continued to speak, Byrne would lose what little composure he'd managed to hold on to. If another one if his angry blackouts were to occur like earlier, there was no telling what would happen. She knew it was best if they both just left. After Byrne's warning, Cole scowled and slowly floated back and away from them, staring daggers at Audrey.

She watched him cautiously and took a step towards Byrne and spoke to him once again in a calm and quiet voice, "Byrne, can we please leave?" She could tell her voice had wavered from nervousness, partly due to a menacing glare aimed at her from the chancellor. Byrne turned to look down at her once again and he could see the fear in her eyes. He knew that her being up here would only cause more problems, and his room had appeared to be in decent condition. He would keep her there from now on, away from Cole. He regretted leaving her up here alone, where Cole could get to her, but he wouldn't let it happen again. It still confused him as to why he felt so strongly about her, but he wasn't going to deny it any longer that he cared for her in some way or another. But now was not the time to dwell on such thoughts. He needed to get her to safety.

He looked down into her shining hazel eyes and nodded his head to her, before spoke softly, "I will take you somewhere safe, if you will allow it." He lifted his flesh hand out to her and watched as she looked from it to his eyes, seeming to be searching the truth in his words. It was a good quality, he thought, for a human to have. So many of them were far too trusting, but she was cautious and he was secretly thankful for it; there were many evils in this world, he knew that first hand.

Audrey looked from his yellow eyes, which had softened immensely after looking at her, to his outstretched hand. She guessed that he meant to teleported them, but to where? 'Then again, anywhere is better than here' she thought. With that in mind, she raised her own hand and placed it in his, noticing once again how abnormally cold his skin was. 'Definitly not human' she mused, then nodded her head to him, signaling that she was ready. His long fingers wrapped around her own and she closed her eyes, waiting for the weightless feeling from before to kick in. Byrne's grip tightened ever so slightly as they teleported, and when she felt her feet on the ground again, she slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was that it was much darker, and that they were in what seemed like a long hallway. Byrne was still standing in front of her, cradling her hand in his, and she squinted up at him while trying to see him better. He looked down at her and a low chuckle sounded from his chest, which did not fail to send a tingle up Audrey's spine. She could barely see a thing because of the sudden decrease in light and tried to blink away the fuzzy darkness.

"Doesn't this place have any windows?" She mumbled while looking around, slowly regaining her sight. He watched her closely as she looked up and down the corridor, curiosity and a tinge of annoyance shone in her eyes. "Not in this part" she heard him say and felt him gently tug her hand in his direction, "If you will follow me, I will take you to a brighter place." She looked up at him and could see his face a bit better now, since her eyes had only slightly adjusted. As she looked up into his eyes, she couldn't help but notice the golden irises almost glowing in the dim corridor. She blinked a few more times to reassure herself of what she was really seeing, and her eyebrows knitted together.

"What ist?" Byrne asked her quietly as she stared up into his eyes and a rather flattering shade of pink filled her cheeks as she realized she'd been caught staring. "Oh, uh…your-um…your eyes, they're…..glowing." She looked sheepishly down at her had in his and she felt like slapping herself for having stared at him. She knew better, and it appeared that she was once again forgetting that this man was most likely a killer. At that thought, the blush drained from her face and she took a small step back from him. This appeared to confuse him, because he cocked his head to the side and his own dark brows were now knit in confusion. Why did she always seem to be thinking something one moment, and then something completly different the next? It made him wonder if he would need to keep an even closer eye on her, after all, she was a friend of Zelda's. She would most likely try to take the body when no one was around, and he could not allow that. He would simply have to see to it that she remained in his room until everything was complete.

He shook himself from his deep thoughts and moved to have Audrey follow him. He gently tugged on her hand again, leading her down the hallway, but she pulled back a bit after a few steps, seeming to suddenly realize something. "Where are you taking me?" She asked nervously, attempting to stay rooted to her spot. He turned back to look down at her and saw the worry in her clear hazel eyes. "I am taking you to a safer place here in the tower, it's just a spare room down this hall." He didn't feel the need to mention that it was 'his' old bedroom; he wouldn't be using it anyway. As far as she knew, it really was just a spare bedroom for whomever needed it. He watched as she contemplated what he was saying and she slowly nodded her head, letting him lead her forward again. She took timid steps behind him, her hand still in his.

After a few moments of walking down the dark hallway, they finally reached the dark wood door of Byrne's old room. He stopped in front of it, with Audrey still behind him, and used his metal hand to open the door. It opened without a sound and he stepped inside, turning around to face Audrey and gently urged her inside. She let him lead her forward, never taking her eyes away from his. She thought it was strange that he had made sure to hold her hand the entire time, considering the fact that he was practically a dangerous criminal; he was attempting to resurrect the demon king after all. Why was he being so gentle with her? And why had he seemed to regret hurting her when they were at the top of the tower? She was just a human and he was someone of a different race with obvious power, why did she matter? Her mind had been spinning with so many questions and more confusion than she thought she could handle. This day had proven to be the craziest she had ever experienced and she was honestly surprised she was still alive. Dealing with a person like Cole had made her realize that there were very evil people in the world, and she couldn't help but be thankful for Byrne showing up when he did.

Byrne made sure she was all the way in the room before moving behind her to shut the door, reluctantly letting her hand go. He stood beside her, looking down at her face, and noticed that there was confusion and curiosity in her expression and he cocked his head to the side, silently inquiring as to what was on her mind. When she showed no signs of coming back to her senses, he decided to check her injured wrist. He leaned down and gently took her cut arm in his flesh hand and observed the angry looking red lines leading down her forearm. The guilt still turned his stomach and pulled at his heart, but he tried to push it out of his mind. The least he could do now was clean and bind the cuts before they became infected.

He looked back to her face, but she still seemed deep in her thoughts, so he tried getting her attention.

"Audrey?" He asked quietly, not wanting to startle her. She slowly blinked her eyes and shook her head, seeming to come back to the real world. She looked up at him in question and he watched her closly. "What troubles you?" He asked her with a hint of concern in his eyes. She couldn't help study him closer at that, trying to read whether it was genuine or if he was faking his worry. His golden eyes were hard and unwavering, which confused her even more. 'Why does he care?' She wondered to herself and shook her head at him, remembering what he had asked.

"Just thinking….." she mumbled and looked down to see his hand gently holding her cut arm. It was a bit of a shock that she hadn't noticed it sooner and she mentally slapped herself for letting her guard down around him again. She didn't pull it away at first, but watched him cautiously. He seemed to ignore her guarded look and stared down into her hazel eyes, unblinking. "About?" He asked curiously, inquiring her statement earlier. She blinked up at him and furrowed her brow before giving him a reply that wasn't completly untruthful. "Just…..about today", she got out slowly, watching his piercing eyes read her. "I see" he said hesitantly, not seeming very satisfied with her answer, but he didn't pry further. She was thankful for it and watched as he looked back down to her arm that he was holding, seeming to remember what he was doing. She looked up at him questioningly and nodded towards a closed door in the corner of the bedroom, "I will clean and bind your arm if you will allow it." His voice was still quiet but she could hear a sort of strain in it, something that sounded guilty. 'So he does regret hurting me?' She questioned herself and looked from her arm back to his strange eyes, seeing a kind of remorse gleaming in them and it brought a sort of calm over her. She felt less tense around him at knowing that he did regret his actions, and that maybe it really wasn't him that had done it. Well it was his actions that had caused it, but he wasn't 'him' when it had happened. She had thought that he looked possessed when it happened, so maybe he was just under a kind of spell? She wasn't sure, but she would give him another chance, and see how he would react when she asked him about it…if she got the chance.

She looked up and nodded her head once to him, allowing him to lead her to what happened to be a small washroom. It was mainly browns and tans in color, and it felt warm.

Audrey walked over to the white sink as Byrne turned the hot water on and moved to dig around in the cabinet in the corner. She looked down at her arm and moved to touch around the cuts. It was tender, but not very painful. She traced her finger over the deepest cut on the other side of her arm and hissed when it stung.

Byrne came back with a clean rag and a roll of white cloth bandages, sitting them on the sink edge and turned towards her. She was still poking around on her arm and his shoulders fell in guilt, "is it very painful?" He asked in a low, quiet voice and she had to fight back the familiar tingle that went up her spine at hearing his voice. She turned to him and looked u into his eyes, refraining from poking at the cuts for a bit. He almost looked nervous while asking her, as if he dreaded the answer.

She shook her head slightly and reassured him, "it just stings a little, but other than that I can't really feel it." She spoke in almost a whisper and watched as his eyes studied her face, looking for any lies. He seemed to accept her answer and his shoulders were now slumped less, as he nodded and set about wetting the rag with hot water. She moved to sit on the side of the white tub located just across from the sink and watched as he rubbed some kind of soap into the rag, then turned to her and knelt before her, gently taking her cut arm into his and gently placed the hot cloth over the red lines. It stung at first and she couldn't help but let a sharp breath escape her lips and her eyes squeezed shut, willing the annoying burn to go away.

Byrne watched as she tensed lightly and she scrunched her eyes shut, but didn't pull her arm away. He let the rag set in it place to allow the stinging to pass before he place his hand over it and began to very gently move it in small circles.

The stinging was beginning to ebb and Audrey was surprised at how gentle her was being with her. One look at him before and she would never have been able to tell that he could be so caring. He continued to amaze her and she did want to tell him that what had happened wasn't his fault. But it worried her that it had happened at all and she felt the need to tell him. He didn't seem to understand what had happened, at least not what she had seen. Had he felt himself change, of was he oblivious to it? She could at least tell him what had happened to his eyes.

She looked down at his hands softly working on her arm before hesitating, and was about to speak when his own deep voice filled the room.

"Audrey…..i-" he began before pausing, and a quiet sigh left his scarf-covered lips, "I want to apologize for…for what happened." He paused again and lowered her arm, but still holding it. She looked down to see her arm completly clean; all the dirt and dried blood had been wiped away to reveal clean pink skin around the long cuts.

She had been taken aback by his statement and could only look down at her arm, noting how much better it felt after being properly cleaned. She glanced from her arm to his face, and saw sadness and a bit of nervousness in his face. She felt something tug at her heart at seeing him kneeling before her with so much sorrow in the piercing yellow depths, and slowly shook her head, "Byrne….I don't believe you did it…..knowingly…" she said in a quiet, hesitant voice and watched as his brow furrowed and he slowly raised his head to look up into her hazel eyes. He seemed confused at her words, so she continued, "What I mean is….you werent…'you'." She realized how crazy she was probably sounding and lowered her head, not wanting to see the skeptical look that would surely be on his face.

Byrne didn't understand what she meant, and inquired, "Audrey? What are you talking about?" He wanted to know what she was trying to tell him. Did she know something that he didnt?

He watched as she hesitantly looked back to his eyes and continued speaking barely above a whisper. "When you….." she swallowed thickly, " 'got angry', there was something about you that changed." She began to fidget nervously with her hands and wouldn't look him in the eye anymore.

"I…..changed?" Byrne asked, a little confused, and scooted a bit closer in front of Audrey, trying to her her to look at him. Her hazel eyes timidly lifted and met his yellow ones, and he could see a hint of fear in them at her remembering what happened. The last thing he wanted was to frighten her again, but he needs to know what she was trying to tell him. He lifted his flesh had very slowly, and ever so gently placed his finger under her small, soft chin. Audrey felt the feather-light touch and raised her head slightly to face him again. Him kneeling before her while she sat on the edge of the tub made them about the same height and she only had to look straight forward to be evenly facing him.

Her heart fluttered at feeling his gentle touch and she felt that little spark dance through her at looking him fully in the eyes. They really were mesmerizing to her; no one she had ever known had had such an eye color. She was only ever around Hylians her whole life and had only witnessed blue, brown, green, or in her case, hazel eyes. Byrne's eyes were other-worldly and she couldn't help but get lost in them. The golden-almost glowing- irises that conveyed all his emotions to her were breathtaking and she had to admit that they were one of the most beautiful things she'd ever seen. What race was he from? And who was he exactly? She did know his name, and what he was working toward at that moment, but that was it. Did he have a family that knew he was doing this? How old was he; maybe his race aged differently than her's?

Her curiosity of him only seemed to keep growing the more time she was kept under his watch, but she reminded herself that it was none of her business. They were not friends and it would be foolish of her to want to be; he was dangerous. But she still felt that there was a kind heart somewhere under that muscled, armor-thick exterior.

Audrey caught herself blushing at those thoughts and shook her head, trying to bring her mind back to reality. A concerned look crossed Byrne's face as he watched her. "Are you well?" He inquired in a worried tone, trying to get her to look into his eyes again, "you look flushed, are you ill?" His voice almost took on a frantic edge at the thought of her falling sick, so she waved him off quickly, pushing the confusion at his obvious concern out of her head.

"I'm fine" she mumbled, willing her pink cheeks to stop their nonsence, and looked back to him. "Forgive me, there are many thoughts running through my mind at the moment." She calmed herself and attempted to remember what they had been talking about in the first place before she had become so 'distracted'.

As she gathered her thoughts once again, his smooth, deep voice sounded quietly, "That is…..understandable." His head bowed forward and guilt pulled his shoulders down, "I have put you through much this day" sorrow filled his voice and she felt her own heart tug at hearing it; he may be a dangerous criminal trying to resurrect the demon king, but she couldn't help feel that he had some sense of compassion and caring, as crazy as it sounded. He had shown her that her regretted hurting her and he had even cleaned her wound, so now that he was expressing sorrow at putting her in harm's way only added to the glimmer of hope she had towards him.

Audrey watched as he sat there with sorrow swirling inside him and couldn't help but try to reassure him in some way, "Byrne, I know what you did wasn't intentional" she spoke softly to him, "because I don't believe it was you." He raised his head and looked into her eyes, trying to understand what she meant. She felt more confidence now to explain to him what she was going to say earlier, "when you became angry, your eyes…well…they 'changed'" His confusion was clear at her use of the word again and she reiterated, "they changed…..color. Well, they sort of…morphed, into something I have never seen before." A trickle of fear made its way onto her face at imagining the way his eyes had looked, but she continued, "they looked like the eyes of a demon." She shivered and instinctively wrapped her arms around herself, remembering how those eyes had looked upon her with what could only be described as a thirst for blood.

Byrne saw her a parent fear and wanted to try to somehow comfort her, but he knew taking her into his arms probably wasn't the best idea, so all he did for now was place his flesh hand gently on her left arm, trying to console and reassure her. She watched him warily, but did not flinch away and he was thankful for it. She eventually lowered her arms from around herself and placed them in her lap, reverting back to softly wringing them together. She looked from them to his face once more and he nodded to her to continue.

She sighed softly and began speaking again, "I don't know if it's what really happened, but it almost seemed as though you were…possessed."

Audrey watched as Byrne turned his head to the side, looking down at the white tile floor and seeming to contemplate her words. He took his hand away from her arm and slowly stood. Audrey watched hesitantly as he turned back to the sink and took the white cloth badages from where he had sat them, unwrapping a few small strips. Along with that, he grabbed a tube of what looked like some kind of clear salve and turned back to her, eerily quiet, his eyes now hard and hiding his emotions. It frustrated her that she couldn't read him anymore and all she could do was watch his rigid movement.

Byrne knelt down before her once again, uncapping the tube of transparent gel and squeezing a decent amount onto his long, pale finger. He gently took her arm in his metal hand and looked at the cuts before spreading a thin line of the substance directly over each red line. His touch was so light and gentle on her skin that if she didn't know any better, she would believe that this man wouldn't hurt a fly. But she did know better. She knew his intentions and that he was working with someone like Cole. But even with that knowledge, she could not deny the feeling that there was some goodness in him, even if only a small flicker; it was there nonetheless and that is why Audrey decided, right then and there, that she would do her best to bring it forward within him and prove, if only to herself, that he was a good soul.

With new determination in her heart, she gently reached her uninjured hand out and lightly placed it around the wrist of his that was administering the medicine, making him freeze in his actions. She softly whispered his name, and Byrne couldn't help the shiver that went through his entire body at feeling her delicate touch and hearing his name being whispered by her sweet voice. He slowly looked up from his administrations on her cuts and his breath caught in his chest at seeing her pink lips slightly parted, her long lashes brushing her soft cheeks as she slowly blinked, seeming to choose her next words carefully.

"Yes, Audrey?" His voice came out low and husky and it made her flush once again. She swallowed quietly and inhaled softly, trying to compose herself.

"I just wanted to say that…I forgive you…for this-" she nodded down to her arm and watched as his eyes widened slightly and he watched her carefully. She looked timidly into his golden eyes and continued quietly, "I do not believe that they were truly your actions." She watched as disbelief spread in his eyes and his brows lifted ever so slightly in suprise. He looked down at her small, soft hand gently holding onto his pale wrist and a sense of gratefulness swept over him; before him was this small, fragile human who he had not only kidnapped and thoroughly frightened, but also injured and here she was forgiving him in the same day. He was at a loss for words and felt something warm swell in his chest.

Without a second thought, he moved to take both her small hands gently into his and looked straight into her beautiful hazel eyes, unblinking. She took in a small, soft breath at his touch and looked back into his own golden eyes, waiting for him to speak. "Though I do not deserve any shred of your forgiveness," he began in a deep voice that still did not fail to make Audrey shiver, gently squeezing her hands, "I gratefully accept it." His voice was so smooth and unwavering that Audrey could only nod to him that she understood. "I vow to you that I will never harm you again, Audrey. I swear it to you." His eyes were piercing and determined and Audrey knew she could trust him, at least with this.

She gently squeezed his hands back and offered him a small smile. His heart fluttered uncontrollably in his chest at seeing this and could only stare like a fool at her lovely face. She seemed to notice this and let out soft laugh and blushed down at her small hands still being cradled in his large ones. He shook himself from his daze and mentally slapped himself, realizing that he had completly forgotten about wrapping her injury.

He reluctantly let her hands slip from his, careful of the razor sharp edges on his left hand. She watched as he took the bandages and unrolled them, placing one end on her arm and bringing the other side to securely wrap around it. He continued this until no more of the cuts could be seen and he tied off the last end, not too tight to be uncomfortable, but secure enough to stay in place. She looked down at her now cared for wound and stood from her spot. He stood as well from his kneeling positing and looked down at her. Audrey now had to look up to see his golden eyes and blinked a few times before speaking in a soft voice, "thankyou Byrne." She watched as his eyes softened at her thanks and he nodded his head to her, his deep voice rumbling in his chest. "You are welcome, Audrey."


End file.
